Crisis Reverted
by DarkHybridChild
Summary: Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto are dying. To save them, Naruto uses the Time Release jutsu to take them to the past. Their past, or rather, the future, will never be the same. Same threat, new allies, love, hate, deceit and betrayal are all intermixed.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** A not-so-average take on your cliche of the 'Travel back in time' fic. It may start out that way because of it being slow going, but trust me, it will definitely get weirder as we go along. Okay, with that said, I hope you enjoy.

* * *

"Sasuke... Sakura-chan... I'm sorry," Naruto wheezed quietly as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Likewise, two said people were in similar states, gasping and hacking up blood. They were dying. They had all pushed themselves once too many times and they went past the borderline of death this time.

"I never thought..." Sakura breathed, pain laced in her voice, "That we would die like this." Despite knowing her fate, she was unafraid. Her years had steeled her nerves. She knew well not even her healing jutsu would help this time around--she could not produce enough chakra to save them all. She would rather die with them than be considered a coward for saving herself.

"...I guess this means, we'll be together once again, na, dobe, Sakura?" Sasuke said quietly, the slightest smiles of regret on his expression.

"Yeah,"

Naruto turned his head from where he lied to look dazedly towards the two. "Guys... I'm sorry we had to be like this."

"No," Sasuke replied. "It's better like this. To die with my friends...than to die alone."

Sakura nodded slowly in agreement.

"But this never should have happened in the first place..." Naruto argued weakly.

"Shut up, dobe. We can argue about this in Shangri-la. For now, let's just...enjoy this last moment together as one."

They lapsed into silence, save the ocasional wheeze or cough. The lied there in a semi-triangle, perhaps a symbolism of the past, their days as team seven. Naruto's vision clouded and he knew; he knew he was finally dying. Not even the kyuubi's healing powers were fast enough to save him. But, maybe...

"Guys... It's not gonna end like this. I won't let it. I'm sorry, but I'm going to save us all. You'll hate me for it, but I'm going to."

"Idiot, how are you going to do that? You can't even move." Sasuke countered.

Sakura mumbled something along the lines of an agreement, she was the most fragile of the three, she was closer to death's door than the other two.

"Just...trust me. When I give my word, I keep it."

"Naruto..." Sakura whispered softly.

"Save your strength, Sakura-chan. I promise, we're not gonna die here. Dying can be for another time. I can't stand to see us resign ourselves to fate when we can change it. We're gonna live. Just watch."

Whatever any of them said afterwards was lost to him as he slipped into his mind.

He walked along the familiar corridors of his mind until he reached the cage of the nine-tailed demon fox.

"Well, well. I guess you're finally about to die." The fox snapped.

"If I die, you're coming with me," Naruto countered softly.

The bars rattled where the fox slammed against it with an angry snarl. "You don't think I know that, you cursed fool? I know all too well what it means!"

"Then help me." Naruto said simply, staring at the demon without fear and looked it right in the eye.

"How? I cannot heal you enough to keep you alive, you know that."

"I know, that's not what I meant. Give me what's left of all your chakra. Unleash it all, I'll use it. If we do that, there's a chance we'll live. Not just you and I, but my friends."

"Do you even understand what you're asking of me, you idiot? If this fails, it's more than just our lives on the line, it could possibly tear our souls apart, as well. You had better give me one damn good reason that I should give you the rest of my powers."

"How badly do you want to live? How badly do you want freedom? How much would you give for the sake of either? As long as there is the slightest glimmer of hope, there is always a chance. I'm willing to take that chance, for the sake of my friends. I want their happiness more than anything." Naruto said defiantly, resolution in his voice.

The fox stared wearily out from between the bars of the cage, letting out a soft rumbling sound that Naruto couldn't identify.

"Well spoken, and just like you." The demon said, a chuckle rumbling throughout the room.

"Very well, brat. Do what you will. My chakra is yours, but don't screw up. I want to live a little longer."

Naruto bowed his head in a silent thank you before in an instant, his eyes snapped open wide and a red glow enveloped his entire body.

"Naruto?!" Sakura rasped out, spitting out a mouthful of blood as she did.

"What are you doing now, dobe?" Sasuke asked weakly.

The red glow grew brighter, stronger, the wind around them spun in a circle as if generating a tornado from the sheer strength of the chakra.

"I'm going to save us," Naruto replied again.

"...How?"

"You'll see. Trust me."

Moving his limbs was harder than it should have been, but he managed. He brought his hands together and with concentration, began channeling all of the chakra inside of him and the kyuubi into the jutsu as he formed the seals.

"Time release!"

"Dobe, what are you--" Sasuke's voice seemed far away.

"I'm scared," Sakura's voice echoed.

"Trust me," He replied, turning his head to smile at them, one last time. Just in case he was too late and this would be the last time he ever saw them again. If he died, it would be worth it, at least he saved Sasuke and Sakura.

The red glow dispersed from his body and instead surrounded the three of them, the wind whipped around, trees were torn out of the ground by their roots, everything was flying and to the three, it was all a blur. Everything finally seemed too much for them and their eyelids lowered.

"G-goodbye..." Sakura breathed as hers slipped completely shut.

"Not goodbye," Sasuke corrected softly.

"Not...ever...goodbye..." Naruto echoed after them.

Slowly, their vision went dim and they slipped off into oblivion.

The wind died down, but the red glow remained. In another moment, their bodies completely vanished, ceasing to exist.

'Sasuke... Sakura... We'll be okay...this time...'

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC: ** I've nothing really to say about this chapter, it's just kinda story building for now. Hope you all like it!

* * *

'Am I...dead?' Naruto thought to himself. He just seemed to be floating in nothingness. His eyes opened slowly and he found himself lying in a pool of water. He looked around. This place was too familliar. He stood up in the water and climbed out, the water drying from his metaphysical body in instants.

"Well, fox? Did we make it?"

The Kyuubi loomed in the background of the cage. They were making another sound that seemed uncomprehensible to Naruto. It almost sounded...content?

"You did well, brat. I didn't think you had it in you to reset time. For a while, I feared we were going to be torn apart. You are here because of the strain you had placed on your body. You are fine and healed now."

"That's...good to hear," Naruto said finally with a smile. He looked around for a moment.

"Sasuke? Sakura? What about them? Did they make it?"

"There's only one way to find out, kid. Open your eyes and wake up."

Nodding, Naruto turned and exited the corridors of his mind, coming to consciousness as his sense of self returned. His eyes cracked open, blurry and bright light flooded in. He winced. He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes, stretching. Things felt off. His body was off and misperportioned. He cracked his eyes open again to a sight he rather wouldn't have preferred to see again. He was in his old, shabby shack of an apartment.

Blinking, he looked down at himself. A hysterical laugh bubbled to the back of his throat but he kept it down. He could have laughed, truly, at how far back the jutsu had taken them.

"Damn, the fox's chakra is potent. I only meant to take us back a day or so, not the majority of our lifetime!" He mumbled aloud.

He stretched again, feeling some of the stiffness in him leave. He ached a little where his old wounds were, but other than that, he felt...oddly liberated, refreshed. The past... He was in his childhood past. He was a kid again. He could still remember everything that happened, but he still felt giddy, the childish energy he had sprang to life inside of him.

He hopped off the bed with a bounce he hadn't felt in a long time. He had to see if Sasuke and Sakura had made it back as well.

-----

'Am I... Am I dead?' Sakura thought wearily to herself as she just seemed to be floating in a veil of her conscious.

"Sakura? Sakura, honey, it's time to get up. You were going to go over today to Ino's to play, right?"

'That voice... Mom? And...Ino...? I was...going to...?'

Slowly, her eyes cracked open to the blinding sunlight and she nearly hissed. She had moved, though!

Why was she here in her old house?

"This is so strange..." She spoke aloud before her eyes widened. "Wait, my voice!" Her hands went to her throat before she got up and went to the full body mirror in her room and came face to face with her seven year old self. Her eyes widened. This...? This was what Naruto did? She clutched her head as pain flashed through her system as everything flashed forward in her mind.

The memories, the pain, them dying...

"Naruto... Sasuke..." She said softly aloud.

"Sakura? Are you awake?"

She jumped at the sound of her mother's voice.

"Y-yes, mom! I'm up! I'll be there in a few minutes!" She called back, putting a hand on her racing heart to calm herself. She finally turned headed for her closet and got dressed as fast as she could. She had to find Naruto and Sasuke. She had to know if they were alive, too.

----

Sasuke's eyes cracked open, letting out a groan of discontentment. He hated mornings, he really, really did. They were the bane of his existence. He even had problems getting up after he had Mikoto and Itachi--

His eyes snapped open wide, gasping loudly as he clutched at his chest. It ached. He breathed heavily, trying to comprehend everything rationally. Naruto had used a jutsu as they were dying to 'save them' so... He looked around. He was in his room, in the Uchiha complex.

This... This couldn't be right, this was Mikoto's room now, right? He got up. Everything seemed bigger. He frowned. He made his way to the bathroom adjoint to his room and could only stare in what could be known as horror as he came face to face with his young, seven year old face.

His throat closed; he wanted to scream, but no sound came. He could only gape. The dobe was _so_ dead!

But... He strained his ears. Down the hall, he could hear movement, life. He blinked, eyes widening in realization.

'Time release'... That idiot had reverted them to the past! That meant... Itachi was still here, his mother.

The knowledge he knew about the Uchihas, he had no love for them in his heart, but his Mother and brother were a different story. If, somehow, he could prevent her death, and stop his brother's biggest mistake...

This was the past, which meant the future was now unstable. He could shape it.

Part of him ached; he longed for the life he had for a moment before he pushed it from his mind. No, this was better, he could change the points that were important and keep the rest, right?

But first...

He had to find Sakura and Naruto. He had to make sure they were okay, too.

----

As far as Naruto could tell, everything was the same. Both good, and bad. He put on his grin and kept going. He decided it best not to go to Sakura and Sasuke's houses, they'd come to him. So, with a gleeful grin, he went to the most obvious place.

He went to Ichiraku Ramen.

He smiled and waved at any of the people he knew, even if they frowned or scowled at him. There were very few that smiled or waved back--mostly shinobi. He ducked under the flap and grinned brightly at Techu. "Hiya, jii-san!"

The old man laughed heartily, smiling brightly. "Well hello, Naruto. The usual?"

"You bet your socks on it!"

Chuckling, the man started to prepare the ramen. Ayame came up and smiled widely at Naruto and leaned against the counter, beginning to chat with the boy. The blonde smiled even wider, so happy about everything. He didn't regret his choice for a moment.

----

Sakura exited her house at all speed. She looked around, trying to think of where Naruto would be. She started walking aimlessly down the street. Ino came and asked if she was coming over and she gave a half-hearted reply of "Maybe, it'll depend."

"On what? Your mom?"

"No, I just... Haven't been feeling quite right. I don't know if I'm getting sick or not," She lied.

"Oh... Well, I hope you feel better."

"Thanks, Ino. You're the best!"

"Of course."

They both laughed for a moment before Sakura waved to the other girl and kept going down the road.

She looked around, wondering where the hell that idiot called Naruto was.

"Sakura."

Her body froze automatically at that voice. She recognized it, would know it anywhere by now.

She turned slowly to see Sasuke leaning against the wall in a small alleyway, staring at her with the slightest edges of a smile there on his lips.

She rushed over to him and all but threw her arms around him, embracing him tightly. "You're alive.

You're real, right? This has to be real."

The other shifted, a little uncomfortable, but he returned the embrace. "Yeah, it's real. This is the past.

The dobe brought us back here to save us."

She let go of the other, the barest hint of tears in the corner of her eyes. "Have you seen him?"

"Not yet, I was on my way to look for him and saw you."

"Oh... I have no idea where he would be."

Sasuke smirked widely. "There's only one place he'd go to wait for the both of us."

Sakura looked confused. "Huh?"

The boy smiled before he grabbed her hand and started to lead her down the alleyway. "Come on."

"Okay."

Sakura followed the other, not really sure where the other was taking her, but that was fine. Soon enough, she began to recognize the surrounding area around her as Sasuke brought them out from an alleyway. 'So that's how he avoided us all the time,' She thought with a giggle.

"What's funny?" Sasuke asked.

"I just realized that, these alleys were how you avoided us, wasn't it?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks, Sakura."

She grinned.

Soon, the familiar building came into view and the flash of orange from beneath the flap was enough to have her smiling widely.

"I should have known he'd be here."

Sasuke smiled a little. "He knew better than to come find us, he knew we'd come here."

"He's always been smarter than he ever let on, hasn't he?" Sakura asked softly as they neared.

"No, I just think he knows us too well."

They opened the flap to find Naruto eating like usual. With a wave to the owners, Sakura grinned widely. Without warning, she slammed her hand into the back of Naruto's head, shoving his face further into the bowl, listening with satisfaction as the blond made gargling noises and let him go. Sasuke was laughing the whole time during the scene. Sakura moved and before Naruto could turn around, Sakura had looped her arms around his shoulders, leaning in enough to whisper in his ear.

"Thank you, for saving us."

Face covered in noodles and broth or not, his smile lit up even more.

"Hey guys!" He greeted happily.

"Looks like you're alive, too." Sasuke murmured quietly as he pulled himself into the chair on Naruto's

right, with Sakura taking the one on his left.

"I could say the same for you two. I'm glad it worked."

"What did you do?" Sakura asked.

"I... I used the Fox. What was left of his power to bring us back. I only meant for it to be a day or two but his chakra's potent. I couldn't believe we were sent back this far." Naruto slurred into his bowl of ramen, knowing that Techu and Ayame couldn't make it out, but the othet two could.

Sasuke snorted. "Idiot." He turned towards the two owners of Ichiraku and ordered a bowl of ramen for himself.

Sakura looked a little shocked at the information, but soon recovered, doing likewise and ordering herself a bowl as well.

"Well, on the brighter side, this can be both a good and bad thing." Sasuke mumbled around a few noodles, uncaring for manners at the moment. He was far too comfortable to care. Being here, with his friends was enough.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, taking a dainty bite of hers. All her years of etiquette training from Shizune kept her from showing such a display of improperness.

"Well... We can change the future now. The things that could have been prevented had we known what was going on can be changed." The Uchiha boy replied.

Naruto's eyes widened at the implications. "You mean... We could..."

"He's right. Sasuke's right on the mark. There's so many things we could keep from happening." Sakura reasoned, nodding her head as she thought about it more. They were children in body only. They still had all the knowledge from their previous selves. They could reshape the future.

"You do realize we'll have to act like ourselves throughout the academy?"

"Why? We can be friends in the academy. We'll just have to keep our old grades. Unless you want to be in a different team." Naruto said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"No way! We're a team from here until the end." Sakura responded, giving the two a resolute look.

They both nodded after her.

"That means I'll have to fail again," Naruto groaned softly.

"Why?"

"How do you think I got my Kage Bunshin jutsu? I got used by Mizuki. Iruka saved me. It's also where I first learned about the Fox... Wasn't a pleasant experience."

Sasuke and Sakura both winced. Yeah, that definitely wouldn't be a good way to learn about it.

"So that's how you managed to graduate. You couldn't perform a bunshin because it's more genjutsu than a regular jutsu, but a kage bunshin is pure jutsu because it takes some of the user... I see. And Iruka graduated you on the fact it was a bunshin, no matter if it wasn't a regular one." Sakura reasoned.

"Yup! I was really lucky. Half of the stuff that happened to me, happened by sheer dumb luck when I look back on it, even though I used to think it was all my awesome skill."

"You're still full of it, dobe." Sasuke goaded with a smirk.

"So are you!" The blond replied without skipping a beat.

They bantered good naturedly as they paid and exited the ramen stand and began walking aimlessly down the street. All in all, they looked like a trio of three normal kids to any of the people around them, laughing, bickering, just being good friends.

They wandered to the park and claimed the swings as their own and just sat and talked the rest of the time. About random things, about things they could change. Sasuke was determined when the subject of what he'd do when the massacre came.

"I'm going to save my Mother. And ultimately, Itachi. I'm going to prevent him from making the biggest mistake." He said stubbornly, hands clenched on the chains of the swing.

Both Naruto and Sakura only nodded. They couldn't blame him, or say otherwise to change his mind, even if they wanted to (which they didn't). They knew this the most of all how important it was to him.

"And after that?" Sakura asked softly.

"After that... Find some way to get my significant other to notice me in this timeline."

Naruto snorted. "Good luck getting the world's laziest guy to even bat an eyelash at you. I'll be surprised."

"Gee, how supportive. Some friend," Sasuke countered with a snort of his own.

"Well, at least Sasuke has it easy. How the hell am I to even get _my_ significant other to see me as anything other than an annoyance?"

"Give him one of your damned punches like you did the first time. He'll see then that you're capable of being a kunoichi of the leaf. Kick his ass, he may respect you. From that, let it work its course." Naruto responded with a grin.

"Easier said that done, what the hell am I supposed to do? Go up to him and ask him to fight me?"

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Sheesh, that'd work _real_ well, genius."

Naruto pouted. Sasuke made a non-committal noise, though it sounded suspiciously like a snicker.

"Well, what about you, Naruto? What are you gonna do?"

"Well... I kinda have to meet them first. Then from there, I have to get their trust and get them to see that I'm not an idiot. Then, I have to prevent one's death." Naruto laced his hands behind his head, elbows gripping the chains as he rocked back and forth a little with a wistful look on his face.

"Two?" Sasuke asked, surprised.

"Yeah..." Naruto looked like he was about to clam up, the subject still upset him a little.

"It'll be okay this time, Naruto." Sakura comforted, smiling encouragingly.

Naruto smiled back, though it held raw nerve endings in it. "Yeah, you're right. I won't let any of my loved ones die this time around. I'll prevent it!"

Sasuke and Sakura nodded in agreement. This time... None of the mistakes would be made. It would change the future, but hopefully, for the better.

**TBC**


	3. Interlude 1

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC: **A little interlude chapter, there will be a couple of these appearing in the fic. This little one is Sasuke-centered, to all you fangirls/boys.

* * *

Sasuke stalked down the halls of the Uchiha complex, being as silent as he could. His body was a child's, unfortunately, not the trained shinobi he'd had been--therefore, he still made sound from time to time. He couldn't help it, try as he might.

He heard voices. He was close. He had to remain undetected. He had to create a plausible excuse for what he was planning.

He crouched down against the wall and strained his ear against it, doing his best to make out the words that were being spoken in the Uchiha meeting. He needed his alibi to be sound.

Sasuke breathed as soft as possible, though the strain on his eight year old legs were making it hard to stay still in the crouch, they weren't trained for this yet.

He forced himself to stay there for a good total of three hours. When he heard their voices begin in on the closure of the discussion, he got up and walked away as silent, but as fast as he could, though wobbly from his legs being asleep. He had to be far away by the time they adjourned.

----

"Ita-nii!" He called happily as he saw his brother's form come into view. It was late at night, he forced himself to stay up so he could see him. His small feet pounded on the wood floor as he ran over and embraced the older boy.

His chest clenched when he realized that he only had a small window left before the massacre. Memories flashed of what could still happen. He vowed silently to keep that from happening, even as he pulled away with another smile. For now, he had to act the part of the adoring little brother, which wasn't too hard to do.

"Sasuke..." Itachi said softly, giving the other's hair a ruffle, the barest hint of a smile on his expression.

"It's late, you know. You should be in bed. Mother will worry."

Sasuke pouted, forcing his eyes wide as he blinked up at him. "But I wanted to stay up and see Ita-niisan!"

There was the faintest of chuckles before the other spoke.

"Alright. Come on,"

Knowing it was now or never, he nodded and followed his brother to his room, keeping the facade of his childishness by asking him the same questions he used to. How was it? What did you do? You're so cool, will you teach me?

And as usual, there was the same flick to his forehead. "Some other time, otouto."

Once the door was closed, his expression immediately went serious. Itachi tensed, noticing the difference immediately.

"Itachi. Brother... I must tell you something important." He said, making his voice sound as mature and as old as possible as he said it, hoping to convey his urgency.

The other stared at him a long while, before there was the faintest of nods. They moved silently and went over to the bed and sat on it, placing his elbows on his knees and laced his fingers together.

"What is it, Sasuke?"

Sasuke steeled his nerves, taking a breath. His body was shaking, but he couldn't stop it. Hopefully, it would help with his play.

"Brother... I... I heard something bad. I was curious. Why do all the grownups gather in that one room? I-I went there. I heard them saying terrible things."

Itachi's expression, though carefully schooled, Sasuke could see the faintest twitch at his eyelids, signifying how the other was surprised. He took another breath.

"They said... They said they were going to attack Konoha! And, and... The-they said... They were going to use you!" The trembling worsened as he tried to block out the conversation he heard. Some part of him still couldn't believe how despicable his clan was.

Itachi moved, reaching an arm out and placed it on Sasuke's shoulder, pulling him closer, enough to put his arms around him in an embrace.

"I won't let that happen, Sasuke. I promise." Itachi murmured quietly.

"B-but how?" He replied, eyes widening.

"Trust me. I'll stop it."

"Itachi..." His voice changed again, becoming serious again.

The other let him go and Sasuke stared at him seriously.

The other stared back, knowing something was definitely wrong.

"I've been... I've been keeping a secret from you. I need to show you."

There was silence. Itachi stared long and hard at his little brother, as if trying to determine something before they nodded.

"Go on,"

Taking another deep breath, Sasuke nodded.

"Look at me, nii-san. Look into my eyes."

Before Itachi could move, or blink, Sasuke's eyes flashed, and for a moment, all he could see was a red swirl.

'The Sharingan?!' Was all he thought before his mind went numb.

----

Itachi stared blankly as he looked around. He was in nothingness. Genjutsu. Why? How did Sasuke have the Sharingan? The pattern was different... It couldn't be--??

Finally, a light shone down on Itachi and Sasuke's voice softly spoke.

"Brother... I know what's going on. I've been lying to you, and to everyone. The family is trying to seize Konoha, and you're a double agent. You've been ordered by the Sandaime to find the best opportunity to kill the entire clan. I know who your teacher is, I know about Uchiha, Madara."

Itachi's eyes widened as he whirled around, looking for his brother.

"How do you know such details?! Who told you?!"

Suddenly, the blackness lit up. Images started flashing, bloody scenes of the entire Uchiha clan, murdered. Then it stopped on one, through Sasuke's eyes of viewing his brother standing over their parents bodies. Itachi's own voice echoed through the place.

"I did it to test my abilities."

Then, more images started flashing through again. Destruction, pain. It was all Itachi could see and feel. He gasped as he collapsed to his knees.

Finally, the images stopped and another light appeared. Sasuke walked out of the darkness into it. He was no longer a child. In his mind, he was as old as he'd been when he died. His form was that. He wore a modified white yukata, black training pants, bracers, shinguards, a katana on his waist, his hair went down to his waist, looking eerily like Itachi, but his bangs were different and the few wayward strands spiked out like they did when he was a child.

"This is me, Itachi. This is the real me. What you've seen, are the memories of the past. A past I'm going to prevent."

"How...?" Itachi asked weakly as he stood.

"Uzumaki, Naruto saved me. He brought me to the past to prevent you from making the biggest mistake."

"....."

"I'm not going to stop you from killing the clan," Sasuke said softly.

"Then, what?"

"I'm going to stop you from killing an innocent caught up in the drama, and I'm going to stop you from playing into Madara's hands."

Itachi flinched, everything was off, this wasn't how it was supposed to be. His little brother was supposed to be just that, not this. Never did he dream that this would ever happen. As it was, it didn't want to sink in.

"I won't let you kill Mother. Mother is the only Uchiha that is innocent, that I know. That day I listened to their conversation, she was the only Uchiha not there. She's never been to their meetings. She doesn't know." Sasuke went on, staring at his brother seriously.

"Sasuke..." Itachi finally said.

"I have a plan. Listen to me."

Itachi could only nod. What else could he do? The situation was too far out of his hands. He never believed something like this would ever happen.

"Naruto and I. And another friend of ours that came with us, told the Sandaime the truth already. He knows. I don't want you to run to Madara when you kill the Uchiha. Go to the Sandaime, tell him you want to go into Anbu protection. Change out your Anbu mask, take a different codename, no one will recognize you.

"If you run to Madara and go into the Akatsuki, bad things will happen. Besides, I already know what will happen in the future. There's no need to try and distract Orochimaru. He'll come after me, anyway."

"What about Madara?" Itachi asked quietly.

"Don't worry about him. He can't do anything yet. He'll high-tail it out of Konoha the minute you go to the Sandaime. From there, we wait. We bide our time. Make him think he has the advantage of time, then strike when he least expects it."

"And Orochimaru?"

"Heh, he's even more of a coward. He'll come for me, targeting me because I'm the weakest. He'll try to put his cursed mark on me. If I can avoid that, then he'll have no real power like he did in the past. From there, he'll run. No doubt he'll return, but he'll be hindered. From there, it will be easy to kill him."

Itachi frowned. "Did all of that really happen?"

"That, and so much more, brother. I don't want to go through the grief of killing you again."

Around them, images flashed again. A battle took place, and in the end...

"Sorry, otouto...this is the last time."

Sasuke looked down.

Itachi could only stare in what was known as horror.

"These eyes I have are from you, just like the eyes you'll have will be from Shisui."

Itachi collapsed to his knees again, shaking. He looked hollow.

Sasuke walked silently over and knelt beside him, placing his hand on his shoulder.

"I'm only telling you this because I love you, niisan. I don't want the past to repeat itself. I don't want to be without the ones I need in my life."

"I never imagined..." Itachi murmured weakly.

"I know." Sasuke replied softly.

Itachi slowly stood back up, doing his best to shake the hollow and horror from himself as he looked at his brother. His fingers reached out and gently touched his hair.

"Does it shock you, how I am?" Sasuke questioned.

"Yes, and no. Because... I can only imagine what I did to you that made you like this."

Sasuke smiled a bitter smile. "You don't want to know."

"No, I don't. I only want you to smile and be happy."

"I know that now. But back then... Back then you made me an Avenger."

"I'm sorry, Sasuke."

"You've nothing to be sorry for. It hasn't happened in this timeline."

Itachi nodded silently. "One question."

"What?"

"How are you going to save mother?"

Sasuke smiled a little. "Well, I plan to take her out to meet my friends on that day. Perhaps you could help convince her?"

"Ah. An innocent outing, so no one will suspect."

"Yes."

"You've planned things out well."

"Only because for most of my life I kept thinking about what could have been done to prevent it all." Sasuke responded with another bitter smile.

"Stop that, that expression doesn't suit you." Itachi commanded softly.

"Yes, niisan." Sasuke responded, half-way mockingly as he stuck his tongue out childishly, form dissolving from his adult one back to a child's.

"I'm still your older brother, even if you know the future. It doesn't change anything." Itachi responded, crossing his arms.

Sasuke smiled. "I know. That's how I want it."

"Can we get out of this genjutsu now?" Itachi asked, looking around.

"I don't really like being in your mindscape, no offense."

Sasuke smirked. "That's only because you're vulnerable here." He replied wryly.

"But, fine. We'll leave."

Everything dissolved away and in several moments, they were back inside of Itachi's room, in actuality, they'd never really left.

Itachi swayed for a moment, as if he had vertigo before he shook his head to clear himself of it.

"You can't tell anyone about this except the Sandaime, me, Naruto, and my friend Sakura."

Itachi's brow rose. "A girl?"

Sasuke deadpanned. "Not a girlfriend, dammit. She was our teammate as genin and she was Tsunade's protege. Besides, she married a Hyuuga."

Itachi blinked. "Too much information. But on that subject, what about you? Did you have anyone?"

Sasuke had the nerve to blush.

"You'd never let me live it down if I told you." He mumbled as he ducked his head.

There was a chuckle. "No, I wouldn't."

Sasuke smiled a little. The tension that had gripped his heart had dissapated. He felt a sense of relief and happiness that things would be different this time around.

"Alright, you'd better go to bed now, otouto. You're a child now. You need your sleep." Itachi said, standing up and giving the smaller a little push.

Sasuke made a sour face before he stuck his tongue out at him before they turned and headed for the door.

"Goodnight, Ita-nii." He said as he exited.

"Oyasumi, otouto."

Itachi sat back and thought hard. He was still trying to process everything that just happened. But...with the light his brother shone down, his choices were a little broader. He smiled a little.

To think... His little brother pointed out something he'd never thought of.

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 3

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC: **Annd the moment you've all been waiting for! -shot- It's the day of their graduation, woot! Oh and, shounen-ai in this chapter, since I'm sure you all remember that particular moment in the series. xDD

* * *

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura entered the academy together. It was the day of their graduation. Several years had passed, Itachi killed the clan and had gone into Anbu protection, the only other one alive beside Sasuke was his mother, and had met the two.

It, of course, took Mikoto a while to warm up to Naruto, but once she saw how close the three of them were and how good of an influence they all had on one another, she became like a surrogate mother to them. Naruto flunked purposely and beat the crap out of Mizuki, also fulfilling the conditions that he could use his Kage Bunshin, as well as secure his place in team seven. Sasuke had, of course, been the top student, and Sakura faithfully kept her place as center.

All those years, they trained diligently and worked to get their chakra networks built up so they could survive their encounters in the future. The last time had been by sheer dumb luck, this time they were prepared. Sasuke could perform the Chidori four times consecutively before he got chakra exhaustion and could perform a numerous amount of katon jutsu. He also was able to use plenty of his copied jutsu and could use his Mangekyou for an hour before his chakra was depleted.

Sakura could use the majority of her medic jutsu as well as use her super-chakra strength and genjutsu skills. She also kept up her Hyuuga-style training, even though she swore never to use it unless she had to. She'd regained her perfect accuracy even without the Byakugan. Naruto already had an abundance of chakra, so he'd spent the time refining the control.

He could create a perfect Rasengan without the use of a kage bunshin and do it consecutively around ten times give or take. He could sunshin and hiraishin plenty of times back and forth give or take thirty times before he exhausted himself. He also spent time refining his taijutsu style again.

Mikoto had helped Naruto with his chakra control, putting him on a strict schedule with his training once they had asked her for help and Itachi made an appearance from time to time to help Sasuke keep up his training.

But for now, they entered their classroom and took their seats.

"Ne, ne, Sasuke do you remember when you and Naruto ki--"

Sakura got murderous looks from both her male friends and laughed shakily.

"That's one moment I'd rather not reinact." Sasuke mumbled.

Naruto grinned. "Aww, why not? I'm such a great kisser!" He teased, leaning heavily on Sasuke and made a puckery-face.

Sasuke shuddered and shoved Naruto away. "Do not want."

"Nah, we all know who you want to kiss." Sakura joined in, giggling.

"I hate you two, sometimes."

Naruto grinned all the wider. From out of nowhere he pulled a megaphone out and leaped up onto his desk.

"ATTENTION FANGIRLS. BREAKING NEWS. SASUKE'S SECRET CRUSH IS--"

Sasuke's eyes glinted murderously.

"Dobe, you're dead."

Naruto let out a girly scream as he leaped off his desk down to the next row's as Sasuke took a swipe at him. All the while, the girls were cheering for Sasuke to beat Naruto up and Sakura had produced a cam-corder and was filming the entire thing with a grin.

"Hey, come on, dammit. It's a joke!" Naruto flailed as he jumped from desk to desk with Sasuke hot on his heels.

He'd chased him up the desks and when he thought he had caught up to Naruto, he lunged. Naruto let out another scream and at the last second, twisted and just barely avoided the Uchiha. Unfortunately, inertia was still in motion and Sasuke stumbled forward. His hands shot out and slammed onto the desk infront of him to keep him from falling and from plowing into it. He fell forward and--

Dead silence.

Click.

Sakura's camera went off. The fangirls were all in shock and Naruto's expression was a priceless, wide beam.

"N-no way..." Ino squeaked.

Sasuke was still latched onto the desk, in a liplock with the owner of said desk--Nara, Shikamaru.

Two seconds later, it registered in Sasuke's head and he wrenched away with a gasp.

"NARUTO! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS."

Shikamaru blinked blearily, attempting to figure out what the hell happened. One second he was sleeping, the next there was a huge uproar and the second he opened his eyes to see what the hell was going on, he was in a kiss with Uchiha-fucking-Sasuke.

"I don't know whether to say lucky bastard or to gag." Ino mumbled as she hung her head.

"Mendoukusai..." Shikamaru replied with a fine blush on his face.

Iruka soon came into the class and hit Naruto on the head and reprimanded Sasuke and soon, all quieted down.

"Alright, here are the results of the teams. I will read them off--"

Naruto made a snoring sound and Sasuke rolled his eyes, scowling. Sakura was grinning like she'd won a million bucks and petted her faithful cam-corder. Soon enough, it came:

"Team seven: Uchiha, Sasuke."

Sasuke smirked.

"Haruno, Sakura."

"YES!" Sakura cheered.

"And Uzumaki, Naruto."

"Oh, yeah!" He high-fived Sakura and grinned at Sasuke who only stuck his tongue out childishly at him.

"Get over it. I was just helping you out." Naruto said, giving a thumbs up.

"Completely humiliating me? That's helping me?"

"I got him to bat an eyelash at you, didn't I?"

"You just wanted to bring that back up again, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah."

By now, all the Jonin instructors had come and collected their students--except them. That was okay, though, they knew what they were in for and were prepared.

Naruto stretched out along one row of the desks, yawning as Sakura replayed the footage she got and edited it a little. Ho, ho, she was gonna make so much money for this. And Sasuke was just content to meditate and to try and purge the day's events from his mind.

----

"Yo."

The three of them looked calmly up at their sensei without much expression.

Hatake, Kakashi sweatdropped.

"You're late, you know." Sasuke deadpanned.

"Ah, sorry, I got lost on the road of life." Kakashi replied sheepishly.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that road can take a while to get across, let me tell you." He said, giving a look to the other two, who only caught the meaning.

Sakura sighed. "Well, better late than never, I guess."

"Well, then. Let's go to the roof." Kakashi said and without warning, poofed off with a kawarimi.

The three of them glanced at one another and with a grin, the three of them disappeared in a poof as well and appeared infront of their teacher.

The jounin's brow rose.

"Interesting." He said as he closed his book for a moment to look the three of them over.

"My first impression of you...is you've got potential."

Naruto cracked a small grin, Sakura smiled, and Sasuke snorted.

"Well, then. Let's start with some introductions."

"Fine. You start, sensei."

"Me? Hmm... My name is Hatake, Kakashi... My interests are none of your business, and...well, I have lots of hobbies..."

All three of them twitched.

"We could tell you more about you just by looking at you than what you just said." Naruto complained.

"Oh, well. You start," He pointed at Sakura.

Sakura beamed. "My name's Haruno, Sakura. My likes are training, hanging out with these two and Ino. My dream is to become the best medic-nin along side of Tsunade, my dislikes are people who see me as an annoyance, being a hindrance, and being invisible."

"Interesting. Next."

"My name is Uzumaki-Namikaze, Naruto. My likes are ramen, my friends, and training. My dream is to become the best Hokage like my father and to protect the ones I love. My dislikes are people who would harm my loved ones and the three minutes it takes to make ramen."

"....How do you know about your father, Naruto?" Kakashi asked, highly surprised.

"The damn fox told me, duh." Naruto said stubbornly, crossing his arms.

"So you know about it as well."

"So do they," Naruto said, pointing at Sakura and Sasuke, and the two nodded to back the words up.

"We've known for years."

"And you don't hate him?"

"We saw past what all the villagers like to see. Naruto is a true friend, anyone not stupid can see it." Sasuke spat, very defensive about the fact that everyone treated Naruto so bad.

"That's right. Naruto is our best friend!" Sakura voiced up, pumping her fist.

"Very well. I can see you're not lying. Last, you."

Sasuke sighed but went through the motions.

"My name is Uchiha, Sasuke. My likes are my family, that includes Sakura and Naruto, training, and chocolate. My dislikes are traitors, people who would harm those I care about, and the Uchiha and the counsel. My dream... My dream is to be the best I can be and to get my significant other to notice me."

"...Significant other?"

"As stupid as it sounds, I believe we're all linked in some way and as such, the one you're destined for, is linked to you as well. I just have to get my thread to cross against theirs first." Sasuke mumbled, blushing a little.

"You're so romantic, Sasuke." Sakura giggled.

"Shut up."

Naruto snickered.

"Ah... Well, you're all very interesting, that's to say the least. Very well then. Tomorrow morning, we'll begin our missions. Tomorrow, we will have a survival test."

"Joy of joys," Naruto said sarcastically.

"Might as well be the one to ask, but, didn't we do enough of them in the academy?" Sakura asked, knowing what the answer was already.

Kakashi...started giggling. No matter if they'd experienced it before, it still weirded them out.

"What's so funny?" Sasuke demanded.

"Nothing, it's just... It's no ordinary survival test. You're gonna flip when I tell you the failure percentage."

"68%, right?" Sakura asked.

"You're rather smart."

"It's obvious. Every graduation year, only three teams graduate and the rest get sent back. It's simple mathmatics." She said matter-of-fact-like.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well... I guess you understand that out of all the teams we've chosen, there's a possibility you'll fail, then."

Naruto snorted loudly. "What, us? With our teamwork? Pfft. No offense, sensei, but we'll bowl you over."

The three of them smiled eerily. They were all going to get back at Kakashi for the first time around.

Kakashi gulped. "Uh... Be at the training grounds at six and don't eat breakfast!" He said and quickly, poofed from out of sight.

At once, the three of them burst out laughing.

"We're gonna smoke him tomorrow," Naruto said as the three of them headed down the stairs and exited the academy and they started their way towards Ichiraku.

"He'll never know what hit him." Sakura agreed with a giggle.

"Hn. He has no chance." Sasuke replied with a grin.

They made it to the ramen stand and pulled themselves into their usual chairs. They ordered their usuals and ate and chatted like usual. Once finished, they paid and left. They walked Sakura home and dropped her off.

"You staying the night?" Sasuke asked.

"If that's okay." Naruto replied.

"Tch. You're always welcome, dobe."

"I know. Thanks, Sasuke."

"Heh... Itachi may visit tonight."

"Really?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Yeah. I caught sight of him earlier today. He didn't acknowledge me, but I know he did it purposely."

"That's awesome. I'm definitely coming, then."

Sasuke chuckled. "Alright, then."

They headed back to the Uchiha complex in comfortable silence. Either way, tomorrow was the day they made the difference.

**TBC**


	5. Chapter 4

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC: **And now, folks, it's time for Kakashi-sensei to get his beating! -snort- And you know, progress the storyline and all that. =) I actually wrote this at the same time as the chapter to Not ThiS Time, so if the two have similar elements (writing style), I apologize. But, since I mentioned it, GO CHECK THAT STORY OUT, TOO AND GIVE IT SOME LOVE. It needs it. -end shameless plug-

* * *

The next day, when Kakashi showed up, his three students were just showing up. They all looked cheerful, they were talking and laughing. He smiled just a little beneath the mask. They reminded him oddly of him and his teammates.

He poofed infront of them with a small wave. "Yo."

"Morning, sensei." Sakura greeted while Naruto merely waved back and Sasuke merely hm'd at him.

"I see you're all well rested. Good." He took out an alarm clock and placed it ontop of one of three logs and grinned beneath his mask.

"Today is your entrance exam. You've got until noon to take these two bells," As if by magic, he produced a pair of silver bells and jingled them at the three. The three twitched in remembrance.

"If not, I tie you to the post and let the ones who get the bells eat lunch infront of you. If you all fail, all of you will be tied to the post and I'll eat your lunch. Only two will pass and one will be sent back to the academy, if any of you get them at all, that is."

With another mocking jingle, Kakashi straightened up. "You must come at me with the desire to kill. You may even use your ninja tools."

Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto all smirked. Kakashi sweatdropped, wondering if this was such a good idea after all.

"Now then," He said after a moment of silence, clearing his throat. "Begin!"

Immediately, a barrage of kunai and shuriken hailed down at him. In another instant, there was a poof and they all hit a log.

"Yeah! Let's go wild, guys!" Naruto called as he dashed towards the trees. He ran straight up one and leaped for a branch, delivering a swift upper kick.

Kakashi caught his leg swiftly and threw him down towards the ground.

Sakura ran beneath him and Naruto flipped around. She caught his feet with her hands and with her super-strength, reversed his momentum entirely with a grunt.

Sasuke's hands flew through the handseals. "Katon: Goukkyaku no jutsu!"

Taking a deep breath, he exhaled and large flames spouted out of his mouth, setting the trees ablaze.

Movement to the left.

"Naruto, now!" Sasuke called.

Naruto made a seal with his hands. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Four Naruto clones popped up.

Kakashi's eyes widened. "They're good. They're very good. I've got to keep my guard up at all times. There's no telling what they'll do.'

Naruto lept from the tree and in a burst of speed, slammed his foot into Kakashi's stomach. "U!"

A clone lept up and uppercutted the Jounin. "Zu!"

Another appeared and dug their elbow into their left shoulder. "Ma!"

One other appeared and delivered an axe kick upwards. "Ki!"

The fourth and final clone appeared and the three disappeared. In a curled spin, they brought their leg down. "Naruto rendan!"

Naruto twisted and kawarimi'd at the last second just as Kakashi tried to switch with him.

The clone's heel connected to the back of Kakashi's head and sent him flying towards the ground.

There was a large crater upon impact.

'Kami, they weren't kidding when they said they had teamwork.' Kakashi thought dazedly to himself as he pushed himself up and pulled himself out of the crater.

"Well, I see you know good Taijutsu and Sasuke is good at Katon." He said lazily as he put a hand behind his head.

"I've got to hand it to you, you're good."

"It's not over yet, sensei." Sakura said with a grin.

"Not over at all." Sasuke added on.

Sakura's hands were a blur and she finished the seal.

Kakashi's eyes widened. 'Genjutsu?!'

He moved, leaping back in hopes to avoid it and Sasuke smirked. That gave it away. He twisted and kicked out with a leg. Suddenly, the smell of sakura petals surrounded him. He couldn't tell where it was coming from. It was all around him. He whirled. All he could see was Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto's smirking faces.

"I've got you now, sensei." Sakura's voice was all around.

Before he knew it, she dashed forward. "SHANNAROU!!!"

A fist connected to his jaw, and then one to his shoulder, one to his chest, stomach, abdomen, another to the other side of his jaw, to the other shoulder, the ribs.

"Sakura rendan!"

She wound back and he could see chakra gathered at her fist. With a smirk, she unleashed the blow. He went sailing back into a tree and collapsed against it. He let out a groan.

"K-Kai." He said as he formed the seal.

The genjutsu was released and Sasuke was standing there infront of him, smirking as he held the bells in his hand. Kakashi knew he'd been had. He smiled widely beneath his mask and let out a small chuckle. "Point proven. Congratulations, you've passed."

Sasuke let out a chuckle as Sakura and Naruto high-fived and cheered. He walked back to the three, meeting Naruto's outstretched fist with his own and high-fived Sakura back.

"You three fight seamlessly. How long have you trained together?" Kakashi asked.

They looked at one another and smiled. "Since we were seven, sensei." They answered.

"That would explain why you work so well with one another. Your chakra levels are very good, your taijutsu is very good and, Sakura, your genjutsu is powerful."

Sakura smiled a little. "I've been training just as hard as the guys do. I refuse to let myself slack off and be a burden. We're a team, always have, and always will be, even if we're split apart."

Sasuke's expression changed for a moment, but he nodded seriously. Naruto beamed as he looped an arm around both of their shoulders. "Yeah! We rock! Thanks, Sasuke, Sakura-chan."

They laughed and Kakashi smiled again as he pulled his book out.

"Well, now that you're officially Genin, let's go report to the Hokage."

With a cheer from Naruto, a laugh from Sakura, and a smirk from Sasuke, they headed off towards the Hokage tower. Once there, Naruto bounded over and immediately started pestering the Sandaime who only let out a chuckle at the antics.

"I'm proud of you, Naruto. Your father and mother would be as well," The Hokage spoke as he smiled kindly. Naruto beamed brightly.

Iruka congratulated the three and gave Naruto a hug and told him he'd treat them all to Ichiraku for celebration later.

After that, they officially started their missions as Genin.

They worked without too much complaint, Naruto did make a few comments here and there, simply to be a pain in the ass, because they remembered all too well how bad it was before. But it was tolerable now. They were content.

The three of them were eating their lunch, they'd stopped to take a break and eat while Kakashi read. Sasuke looked up as a shadow loomed above him for a moment. As soon as it was there, it was gone. When he looked down, in his lap there was a small box. He smiled.

Naruto saw it and blinked. He nudged Sakura. They scooted closer and inquired about it. Sasuke opened the box and took out a black pendant with a red swirl in the center. Without hesitating, he put it on and tucked it into his shirt. "Just a congatulations from Him." He responded.

"Who? Kakashi asked, he was hanging by his knees, staring down at him.

Sasuke tilted his head back and met the Jounin's gaze, smile still in place. "My family." He answered cryptically.

"You don't mean..." Kakashi said, brow raising. Sasuke stared back unflinchingly.

"I see." The man swung back up and righted himself, going back to his reading as if nothing had happened. The three went back to eating without incident. An hour after they were finished, they continued doing missions until it began to become sunset.

They waved goodbye to Kakashi and caught up to Iruka, who kept his word and treated them to Ichiraku. Walking Sakura back home, they discussed quietly.

"When do we tell Sensei?" Sakura asked quietly.

"The day before we go on the mission to Wave," Sasuke murmured back.

Naruto nodded. "That way he'll know in advance and we're able to save Zabuza and Haku. If he knows how the battle goes, we can replicate it without fear. Then, I do my thing with Haku and tell him the truth there. While I do that, you two and Kakashi should go kill Him. With him out of the way, the lackies will try to rebel, and then we can smash them in one go."

"You just want an excuse to blow people away." Sakura joked softly with a chuckle.

The three laughed.

Because it was true. Naruto enjoyed the thrill of battle, even if he didn't particularly enjoy killing people. Then again, they were all Shinobi, they enjoyed the thrill of the hunt and battle as well. Killing was just something that came with the job, even if they didn't like it, they enjoyed putting their skills to the test.

They dropped Sakura off with a goodnight and a wave and Naruto walked Sasuke home. Mikoto met them at the gate and gave them both a big hug and told them how proud she was of them. Naruto smiled happily. He was so glad to have been able to meet such an amazing woman. If he ever imagined how his mother would be, he hoped she was something like this lady. She was a wonderful mother to Sasuke and, in a way, to him. He was grateful to her.

He respectfully declined to stay the night and smiled again, waving to them as he headed back to his apartment. As shabby as it was, it was still home to him. As comfortable as he was at Sasuke's house, every once in a while, he needed his own comfort of his 'home'. It was something akin to being on vacation at a relatives and coming back home to your own house.

He made it back without much trouble--though he suspected it had something to do with the shadow that followed him all the way back. He smiled again.

"Thank you, Itachi." He whispered softly. He was fairly sure the other heard it, because the shadow finally slinked off in the direction it had come. He smiled a little wider. He was probably going to congratulate Sasuke in person. He was happy for that. He was happy that Sasuke had the two people he needed the most in his life. He was happy that Sakura was the was she was because of her determination.

Even his disposition wasn't so bad now. He was happy for that. Yes, this was one of the best choices he could have ever made. He fell asleep with a smile on his face that night.

----

Several days passed as Team Seven did their work dilegently, taking on as many missions as they could in a day to make sure they could make it to the deadline without problem. The day before they were to get their first A ranked mission, Kakashi had pulled them aside from missions for training.

"I want to test you all individually," He reasoned when asked why.

So, they went along and let loose, letting Kakashi test them. Once finished, they were allowed to eat lunch.

"Should we tell him now?" Sakura whispered softly as she took a bite of her riceball.

"It would probably be wise." Sasuke reasoned, eating a tomato wedge.

"How are we gonna tell him?" Naruto wondered as he slurped up his instant ramen.

"Tell me what?" Kakashi asked, appearing randomly infront of them, hands on his waist.

They both jumped a little, before shrugging.

"I guess we have no choice now," Sasuke mumbled, finishing off his wedge.

"I'm not gonna be the one to explain it to him. I already did to Itachi and Naruto, to the Sandaime."

"Very well," Sakura sighed.

"I'll do it."

She motioned for Kakashi to sit with them, which he did after a moment's hesitation, looking to each of their serious expressions.

"It's kind of awkward to say, and it's gonna take a little bit of faith to believe what we're going to tell you, sensei." Naruto began, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the base of the tree he was sitting by.

"First of all: Kakashi-sensei, do you believe in time repeating?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi blinked. He put his hand behind his head and throught the question over seriously. "If it were possible, I'd say it would have to be a powerful jutsu and one would have to use a mass amount of chakra to be able to do it, in theory. If you just mean time repeating as in once you die, time starts over, no."

"The first one," Sasuke murmured.

"Yes, I believe it could be possible. Time can be bent, sensei--Naruto's father--already proved it."

"Hiraishin, right?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes."

Sakura looked thoughtful. "Then... Picture this: Three figures are dying. With the last of one's strength, they cast a jutsu to revert time to save them. With the same knowledge they have of the future, they're changing their past."

Kakashi was beginning to see the picture a little. "Hmm... And by changing the past, you're really changing the future."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah."

"If what you're saying is true, then you three..."

"Naruto saved us," Sasuke interrupted.

"He kept us from dying a death that was spent by carelessness."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I just... I just couldn't lie there and let you two suffer slowly. I wanted you guys to smile again. I used the fox's last bit of chakra and created an explosion in time enough to warp us back to when we were seven."

"And you've been slowly living up to this moment?"

"Yeah. Well, we changed some stuff along the way..." Sakura murmured.

"What have you done so far?"

"Well... First, we told the Sandaime. Next..."

Sasuke's expression darkened for a moment. "Next, I prevented my brother from murdering mother when she was innocent in this whole ordeal. It's an S class secret, I can't tell you the details. Secondly, I prevented my brother from joining the Akatsuki."

"I failed the graduation test purposely in order to have a reason to be able to use my kage bunshin abilities again."

"We forced ourselves to play the roles we did in class so we'd get on the same team again with you." Sakura added in, nodding.

"We've trained ourselves to be at least Chuunin level chakra and skill wise." Naruto added.

"Mostly," Sasuke corrected.

"Mostly...?" Kakashi responded, brow raising.

"We're still working on it. But, sensei, we're telling you this for a reason." Sakura replied.

"Oh?"

"Tomorrow, we'll be receiving an A ranked mission disguised as a C rank. It ended disasterously the last time, with unnecessary deaths of people who could have been potential allies." Sasuke said, a careful, serious expression on his face.

"So you're telling me this so you can change that?"

"Yes. We want you aware, that everything we'll be doing on that mission, is pre-planned." Sakura said softly.

"And you want me to wing it, right?"

"You got it, sensei!" Naruto grinned, finishing off another cup of ramen.

"Well... This is a bit much to swallow..." Kakashi murmured as he took on a thoughtful expression.

"We know we're asking a lot from you, to believe us, but we're telling you the exact truth."

"I can see that much, you wouldn't lie. But it still sounds so far-fetched."

"I know. But the Sandaime believes us, Itachi believes us."

"I didn't say I didn't believe you, I just said it's far-fetched."

"Oh." Naruto replied feebly, rubbing the back of his head in an embarassed way.

"Dobe," Sasuke goaded with a smile.

"Teme," Naruto shot back without hesitation.

Sakura rolled her eyes and laughed. She was too used to it. "Don't start now, you two. At least hold off pumelling one another until we finish lunch."

Kakashi made a 'hm'-like sound as he pulled his Icha Icha Paradise book out and began reading it, subconsciously mulling the information his students gave him over in his mind.

Twenty minutes after they'd eaten, Sakura twitched. She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, cracking her knuckles.

"Alright, alright. I guess since you boys can't keep your urge to battle down, let's fight. You two against me." She said as she stood up, brushing some leaves and grass off of herself as she straightened her hitai-ate and pulled her black gloves on.

Sasuke and Naruto looked at one another, before looking back to Sakura, and back again before they grinned. Kakashi looked up from his book in interest. Well, he wasn't entirely expecting that. Usually, a kunoichi was weaker than their male counterparts. He set his book back in his bag and shifted to get a better view.

"Why not? I could use a demonstration of your abilities. Don't hold back." He murmured.

They glanced towards him before shrugging.

"We shouldn't keep our abilities secret from sensei now, I guess." Naruto reasoned with a shrug as he cracked his knuckles before he gave a roll of one shoulder and jumped back, dropping into a stance.

"Hn," Was all Sasuke replied as he took a stance, fingers flexing.

To the untrained eye, he had just flexed them normally. To Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi, they saw him draw several kunai and shuriken into his hands.

"Hajime!" Sakura called.

Immediately she blocked a kunai headed straight for her and charged forward towards Sasuke. Naruto formed the seal for his kage bunshin and three of them popped up beside him. He sent two of them to join the fray while one stood back with him.

'Concentrate...concentrate...' He repeated the mantra in his head as he started to form a Rasengan in his hand. Kakashi's eyes widened as he recognized the jutsu. He slid his hitai-ate up to expose his sharingan so he could keep track of the battle easier.

Sasuke dodged a punch from Sakura, swinging his leg out in a counter, only to have it blocked. He caught her fist when she went to punch him and jumped, flipping, and caught the girl under her chin as he went. Sakura staggered for a moment, gritting her teeth. her eyes lit up with a fire in them. Her inner self cheered at the thrill of fighting.

"SHANNAROU!!" She cried out as she rushed the two Naruto clones with a flurry of punches and kicks.

In instants, the clones were dispersed. She whirled at the last second and caught Sasuke hard in the abdomen with an undercut, sending him flying into a tree.

"Rasengan!" Naruto yelled as his clone launched him towards the battle. He did it the instant Sakura had whirled.

Sakura's eyes widened. Sasuke had been a distraction! There was only one way she was gonna make it out of this without a scratch.

She closed her eyes and focused all of her chakra around her. After a moment, her eyes snapped open and she began to spin. She moved her arms out infront of her, letting the chakra expand and envelope around her in a dome. "Kaiten!"

The Rasengan hit the barrier just as it fully went up and Naruto was sent rocketing backwards from the force of it.

"Oof!" He grunted as he landed hard on his back.

Kakashi stared in shock. How did Sakura know a Hyuuga secret style move? He kept watching with interest.

Sasuke had picked himself out of the tree by then and made a seal with his hands and knealt to the ground. Slowly, his shadow creeped out along the ground. The shade from the tree helped extend the reach and power of his shadow. Sakura came out of the spin with a smirk. She went to move to go after Naruto, but froze. She couldn't move. She tried to look down, but couldn't.

"Kagemane, success." Sasuke called.

Kakashi stared. Now Sasuke was using the Nara clan's abilities? Surely this wasn't a coincidence, Sakura knowing Jyuuken moves and Sasuke, kage moves.

Naruto leapt back up and charged. With Sakura immobile, she was vulnerable. "Take this!" He called loudly as he went into a large spin, powering up for a strong axe-kick.

Sakura struggled against Sasuke's hold on her. Surely she couldn't have been outwitted so fast? She thought hard. She focused the remaining bit of her chakra to herself and with a loud scream of "SHANNAROU!!" broke the hold the shadow had on her and dove to the side just in time to avoid being driven into the ground by Naruto's kick.

"Owww," Naruto whined as he climbed out of his self-made crater.

Sasuke panted, the force in which his shadow was broken took a toll on him.

Sakura laid there for a long while before she pushed herself to her feet. "That it?"

Naruto grinned. "Not yet!"

Sakura grinned. "Then come at me! I'll send you flying!"

Naruto responded by charging for her. They began to fight earnestly, punching and kicking. They were doing a good job of blocking one anothers blows or absorbing the damage. Naruto managed to get several good punches in and Sakura got one of her chakra-enhanced ones to hit.

Sasuke recovered and made another seal. He charged all of his energy to his hand and slowly, a blue glow surrounded him and a 'chi' sound started crackling and slowly, lightning began to spark from his hand, growing larger and larger.

'Chidori?!' Kakashi thought with widened eyes.

"Hyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!" Sasuke cried as he dashed forward with all of his speed, straight at the two.

"Chidori!!!"

Sakura and Naruto's attention was distracted. Sakura was too worn out to move. She only had the energy from the momentum of her fighting. Now, with the distraction, she didn't have the energy to move. Naruto noticed this. At the last second, he twisted, slammed his foot into Sakura's chest and all but shoved her out of the way, using the force to flip away as Sasuke came down, leaving a large crater where they'd been standing.

Sakura wheezed as she felt some of the wind get knocked out of her. "You ass, you didn't have to kick me so hard." She complained.

Sasuke laid there in the crater he created, panting. He used all of his energy in that move.

Naruto grinned weakly. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. I didn't have time for much else."

"Well, I can see you're all evenly matched." Kakashi said as he stood up and pulled his hitai-ate back over his sharingan eye.

"But Sakura, why do you know the Kaiten? And Sasuke, why do you know the Kagemane? I can understand the Chidori--you must've learned it from me."

They all pushed themselves to stand and Sakura caught her breath enough to explain.

"I married Neji in the future. By Hyuuga law, I was required to learn the basic Jyuuken and have my eyes transplanted for the Byakugan. I had a branch seal placed on me. But I watched and learned how to use the Kaiten." Sakura explained softly.

"I...see." Kakashi replied, staring for a moment, letting the information sink in.

"And you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked away. "Shikamaru's my significant other."

"Ah... Now it's beginning to make sense."

Naruto dusted himself off wearily. "Well, now that we've worked off the calories, shall we get back to our missions?"

His two teammates nodded mutely and Kakashi was left surprised and amazed that they could even have the energy to move, let alone finish missions.

They surprised him even more, by doing the rest of their missions without complaint and without much else.

At the end of the day, they all ended up crashing for dinner at Sasuke's house, Mikoto had made them homemade curry and they ate it with relish. They goofed around and talked for a while before Sakura went home and Sasuke and Naruto went up to sleep. They all had to get their rest.

Tomorrow was going to be a major life-changing event.

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 5

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC: **Here's the chapter you've been anticipating! Yes, people, Haku will live. And Zabuza. Yay. And more plot becomes revealed as well. Woot! I'm on a roll, people! =) Goo me! -laughs-

* * *

The next day, things progressed as normal; Naruto demanded a higher ranked mission, the Sandaime gave in and gave them the mission of protecting Tazuna and the four of them set out without much complaint, save from their ward.

They passed by a puddle in the middle of the road upon the borders of Wave and passed by without much thought. Sakura carefully made a few handseals so as not to alert her ward as Naruto charged on ahead and Sasuke kept the rear.

Like before, the two Demon Brothers sprang up and attacked Kakashi. Kakashi did his substitution trick and immediately, the two honed in on Tazuna. But before they could get two steps, two large Sakura trees sprouted and vines lashed out and wrapped tightly around them, binding their arms, legs, torso, and neck. They gradually tightened and squeezed.

It was an agonizing genjutsu, and after a while, there was a deafening crack as the vines broke the two brother's necks.

In reality, Kakashi had tied the two up.

"Good job, Sakura."

Sakura beamed as she high-fived Naruto and Sasuke.

Kakashi released the genjutsu on the two and woke them up with a swift, sharp slap to their faces. He questioned them and their purpose, going through the pre-planned motions before he questioned Tazuna and found out the truth. Upon asking the three what to do, they gave him deadpan looks.

"Right, sorry I asked." Kakashi murmured before he turned to the man.

"Well, generally this would require us to return, due to this being outside of our contract limits, my

Genin are resolute in this. I'm confidant in their abilities, so we'll keep going."

The man was grateful to them, if not a little skeptical.

They kept walking until they finally made it to where they'd first met Zabuza.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke all tensed, alerting Kakashi about the battle that was to take place. They acted like normal but kept their guard up.

Kakashi looked around. "Show yourself!"

Finally, Zabuza made his appearance. "Well, well. You're pretty good."

They went through the same conversation all over again, it was really deja-vu to the three. They wanted so much to blurt everything out now and avoid the needless fight, but they knew already that talking would do no good this time. They needed to wait.

Finally, the battle began and things went smoothly, with Sasuke and Sakura guarding Tazuna, and Kakashi fighting the real Zabuza while Naruto was fighting against the mizu bunshin of him.

When Kakashi was taken off guard and caught in the water prison, Naruto gave the signal. Sakura

and Sasuke lept forward. Sakura gave off her signature war-cry and began to assault the clone in a barrage of swings and jabs.

Naruto quickly made the handsign for his henge and Sasuke withdrew his large windmill shuriken.

Sasuke wound back and threw the Shuriken hard, with Naruto safely in the shadow of it.

It flew past Zabuza easily when he dodged and Naruto popped up to throw a hail of shuriken and kunai. Taking his concentration off of the jutsu in order to block them, Kakashi was released. Naruto skidded along the surface of the water, before charging off back to help Sasuke and Sakura.

Kakashi and Zabuza entered the last leg of the battle, and it wasn't long until the three finished the clone and followed after the two to the water's edge. And, like before, Haku showed up and saved Zabuza.

"I hope you're satisfied," Kakashi wheezed, staggering.

"More than you'll know," Naruto assured as Sasuke and he caught him from falling. It wasn't long until he passed completely out. Naruto pulled his hitai-ate back down over his eye while Sakura tended to his injuries and healed him as best as she could.

From there, Sasuke and Naruto carried Kakashi with them to Tazuna's house and let him rest. Sakura ended up having to compression-wrap her own arms from the strain she put on them and Sasuke had to rest soon after because he'd ended up using his Sharingan to keep alert after the battle, now he was chakra-exhausted.

Naruto was the least worn, but that was because he had a numerous amount of stamina. He was, however, very hungry. He pulled out all of his instant ramen and ended up eating it all due to his voracious appetite. They all decided it was best for them all to rest.

They went to bed early and the next morning, Kakashi was awake and feeling much better, thanks to Sakura's healing.

From there, they held a small meeting in the room they were resting on about what to do next.

"We should get our strength back first," Sasuke said, rubbing one of his eyes, it was bothering him from the overusage of the Sharingan.

"Once we do that, I'm going to go out and train until I exhaust myself. I'll pass out, and Haku will come out. From there, I explain to him everything. During that time..."

"Kakashi-sensei, you, Sasuke, and I will head over to Gatou's hideout and eliminate him and whatever lackies are there. If all goes well, Naruto and Haku will meet up with us to help finish off the rest of the cronies in case they decide to attack the village. From there, it's up to Haku what to do next." Sakura explained.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully. "That's a little bit whimsical of a plan."

"But it's the best one. At least this way there won't be two death's on our conscience's that we could've prevented." Naruto countered.

At the nods of agreement he recieved, Kakashi conceded and agreed to the plan.

They spent the day recovering and resting.

Upon the morning, Naruto kept his word and went out to go train.

Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi packed their tools up and headed out towards the hideout by mid-noon. The trek wasn't long and they made it there without being detected.

Naruto worked himself until he was teetering on the verge of exhaustion, which toom him all day until sunset. He finally flopped backwards into the grass and let his eyes shut. He withdrew himself into his mind rather than to sleep.

"Ne, fox. You want freedom, right?" Naruto asked as he stepped into the dimly lit room that the sealed fox was in.

"More than anything, brat. You should know this by now."

"Yeah, I do. But how much are you willing to give to be free."

"Are you offering to free me? Do you realize it would kill you if you released me?"

"I am offering to release you, but on terms and conditions. I also figured out a loophole in which you can be free without me dying."

Immediately the Fox was pressed against the bars infront of him, staring with widened red eyes down at him.

"What are the conditions? To think I'm even willing to make a deal with you to be free..."

Naruto nodded solomnly, realizing just how desperate and humbled the fox had become by living inside of him for so long.

"If I give you freedom, you are not allowed to harm a human unless they come at you with the intent to kill, you will live partially under the guise as human unless circumstances permit you to be in your natural form, and the loophole is..."

Naruto made a seal and a kage bunshin popped up.

"What is this mockery, brat?" The demon growled.

"Not mockery, fox. You know how I figured out how to fix the flaw in my kage bunshin so they'll only disperse with a fatal hit? The concept is simple. I rewire the seal a little and make it so it'll only disperse upon my death. That bunshin will then take the place of your body, I will simply transfer your consciousness from inside of me to the clone." Naruto explained with a serious face.

"...You are too generous, fool. To offer a creature such as me freedom."

"Maybe so, but I can see even you need it. If you agree to my terms and conditions, I will free you. You're free to go where you please, but I'll always know where you are, what you're doing, and the like. It works both ways."

The fox lowered itself until it was staring eye-level with the human infront of it and let out the same sound that Naruto couldn't place before.

"Your kindness is aweinspiring, brat. Look at how many people's lives you've changed because of it. How much loyalty you had inspired by it. And here, you even offer it out to me, the one who's existence was your bane for your lifetime. Why would you even go so far to do this?"

For the first time in a while, Naruto found the will to smile a true smile at the fox as he stepped close to the bars. Unflinchingly, he reached into them, watching as the Fox reared back a little, almost in fear before realizing that it was _him_ reaching through the bars, and not the other way around.

His hand rest upon the demon's muzzle, the other lightly petted along the fur.

"Because, Kyuubi. You're tired, I'm tired. I think we understand one another enough now that I can trust you when you give me your word. If by some chance I can offer you one look at the word through your own eyes again, then maybe it's worth it. If it would make you happy, for the freedom I'm offering, then I'm willing to try."

The sound grew louder and Naruto finally realized it was a croon. The Kyuubi was crooning. It was a sound of happiness.

There was a soft sigh, before the demon spoke, in a softer voice than usual.

"I'll accept your offer. If I can have the freedom to roam the world as I please, and see it again with my own eyes rather than yours, then I'll take it."

Naruto smiled again. "Okay. After this mission, I will free you. I promise."

"You'd better wake up now, brat. You don't want to miss your window."

"Yeah."

The last thing he saw of the demon fox wax them curling up, letting out a loud croon. His eyes cracked open slowly as he felt a gentle shake to his body. His first sight was upon the beautiful face that could have belonged to a girl, but Naruto knew better. He smiled as he sat up slowly.

"You're awake." Haku said softly.

"Yeah. I got tired from training." He answered honestly.

"You shouldn't sleep out here, you may catch a cold. Or worse, someone may come at you with ill intent."

Naruto smiled wider. "I'm not too worried about either one. Thank you for your concern. By the way, what are you doing out here?"

"I'm gathering medicinal herbs."

"May I help you?"

"...Of course."

Naruto grinned. "So, I guess you know some first aid. That's neat. I have a friend who's studying to be a medic-nin. She's giving it everything she has."

The other paused. "Are they...precious to you?"

Naruto looked back over at them with a serious expression. "All my friends I have are precious to me. Every one I make, they hold a special piece of my heart. If I were to lose any one of them, I would be incomplete."

Haku looked thoroughly surprised. "I... I am the same way."

"I know. I can see it in your eyes. Your love for the one you cherish."

Haku gasped.

"I know who you are, and I know why you're here. But I'm not going to stop you."

"Wh-why not? I am your enemy! If you know..." Haku replied, sounding the slightest bit fearful.

"Because, I have information for you."

"Wh-why would you tell me anything?"

"Because it concerns your loved one's life. Gatou's planning to backstab you two. He plans to doublecross you, by having you wear yourselves out fighting us, then kill you two and perhaps try to kill us." Naruto said solomnly. He reached out and put his hand ontop of Haku's, staring him directly in the eyes.

Haku trembled, staring back with widened eyes. "Is this true? They mean to harm Zabuza-sama?"

"I wouldn't lie to anyone, especially if it concerned people I care about. Now that I've met you, and found we have this in common, I feel we could be friends. But, in order to be friends, you must live. I want you to live, so we can get to know one another."

Haku swallowed shakily, face relaxing back to a neutral one before they nodded. "I... I believe you. I can see it in your eyes. You're being honest. And I... I want to be your friend, too."

"Good! I'm glad. I know it's kind of sudden, but, my friends and I were already going to attack Gatou. I'm supposed to meet up with them now. You can come with me if you like, or you can go back to your loved one."

Haku stood up, brushing the grass and leaves from their clothes. "I will accompany you. If they truly do mean to harm Zabuza-sama... Then I will show them no mercy."

Naruto smiled as he got up as well. "Very well. Let's go. My friends will probably appreciate the backup."

With a nod, the two took off towards the hideout together.

----

Sasuke blocked a swipe from one of the enemies, ducking and slamming his fist into their abdomen and sent them flying. Off to the left, Sakura was handling two of the larger ones. She grabbed one by the wrist and showing off her super-strength, hurled them around, taking out the second before throwing them into a crowd of other enemies that came through the door.

Kakashi was handling about four other shinobi, blocking their attacks and countering with his own. He was looking for an opportunity to take them all out at once. He shoved them back and made a seal, forming lightning into his hand. "Raikiri!"

With blazing speed, he took them all out in one go.

Sakura and Sasuke were pressed back to back now, breathing heavily. The remaining enemies had taken it upon themselves to surround them. Just as they were going to make their move, a hail of senbon needles rained down and took out all the enemies.

Naruto and Haku appeared in the room.

"Guys! Are you alright?"

"You're a little late, you know." Sakura breathed, leaning back against Sasuke to catch her breath.

Naruto looked sheepish. "I'm sorry. I wore myself out and then I got to talking with Haku. He said he'd help us."

Haku nodded silently.

Kakashi smiled beneath his back. "That's thoughtful. We've only got Gatou's main room to go. He's holed up in there with the rest of his bodyguards."

Naruto nodded. "Leave that to us."

"Be careful, Naruto." Sakura called.

Sasuke snorted. "That's like asking for a miracle."

Naruto stuck his tongue out at them. "Shut up. But anyway, I'll be back!"

Naruto turned and motioned for Haku to follow him and they made it to the doors. Cracking his knuckles, Naruto grinned.

"I'll bust it in one go."

He formed a Rasengan in his hand before he charged and slammed it into the door. It burst into splinters upon impact and the people inside of it were all too startled to do anything. Haku walked into the room, and made a handseal. "Hyoton: Crystal Ice Mirrors"

Before Gatou and his men could react, beautiful clear ice mirrors raised themselves around the room. Haku stepped into one of them and then, all of the panels reflected a vision of him.

"For planning to harm Zabuza-sama... Your punishment...is death." His voice was as as cold as the ice itself. Naruto had the respect to look away as screams and yells of pain and death started. As brutal as their deaths were, Naruto couldn't bring himself to watch even if he had wanted to. There was just something about watching a friend, or someone in general, taking another person's life.

Soon, Haku stepped out of his mirrors and they dissipated, leaving the room bloody as needles stuck out from every corpse. Naruto fought down a shiver but stared seriously at Haku and nodded with a small smile. "Now you and your loved one will be safe. As a compensation, as soon as we return the money to Wave, whatever's left, you may have."

Haku smiled back. "Thank you very much, you're so kind."

"Naruto," He said. "My name's Naruto. Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto."

"I will remember your name."

"I hope we'll be able to meet again after this. I'd love to know more about you."

"And you as well."

They returned to Kakashi and the rest and from there, Sakura agreed to look at Zabuza and heal him if necessary.

Although pissed off and wary about it, the man let the girl check him over and true to her word, she healed every bit of him she chould with her medic jutsu. Haku explained to Zabuza the situation and told him of what he had done. Naruto put in that they would give them the extra money for their affairs after the bridge was built the the money, returned to the country.

Albeit, begrudgingly, the man had agreed.

Two weeks later, the bridge was completely built and the town had regained some of it's lustor now that Naruto and the rest had returned the money. Tazuna was so proud when the construction was finished. "In honor of your bravery and courage, we're happy to name this bridge the Great Naruto Bridge in your honor."

Naruto smiled widely and bowed. "I'm very honored. Thank you so much." Haku smiled and gave his own congratulations. They'd spend the two weeks side by side, building the bridge together and getting to know one another.

"I'll see you some day," Haku began.

"Yeah. It's a promise." Naruto finished. They took hands and shook in promise. With a wave and a laugh, Naruto ran after his three companions who'd gone on ahead of him.

"I'm glad that turned out so well," Sakura said with a smile.

"Me, too." Naruto agreed.

"Don't celebrate too early. There's still some major events that are going to come to pass." Sasuke said ominously.

"Oh, don't start being a sourpuss now, teme."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Kakashi made a 'hm' sound, not paying too much attention to their conversation, though he was a bit bothered by what Sasuke said.

'The Chuunin exams are coming up...is that what he meant?'

Without much trouble, they made it back home to Konoha.

**TBC**


	7. Interlude 2

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC: **Here's another interlude. Things are beginning to shape up! =) Thank you for all your kind reviews, guys, I'm very happy you think so highly of my work. Oh yeah, this chapter also is Not This Time-ish. I've decided it's going to be connected to the fic and it's preceding sequel (whenever I get around to it) So if you see references to it, don't be alarmed. =p

* * *

Sasuke sighed as he stared from the tree he was crouched in. He'd been there for two hours, staring and thinking.

"Are you going to ever talk to him or are you just going to keep stalking him?"

He jumped, nearly falling out of the tree. Standing beside him was Itachi, dressed in his anbu outfit.

"I'm not _stalking_ him!"

At the skeptical silence he got, he twitched.

"Alright, so I _am_ stalking him. But that's only because I don't know how to go up to him."

"A normal person would use 'Hello', otouto."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I'm not normal, he's not normal."

"Sasuke, if you don't get over there and do something, I'm going to throw you over there myself."

Knowing that his brother _would_ do such a thing, he decided he might as well get on with it.

Sighing, he jumped out of the tree and made his way over to where the other was.

Shikamaru was lazily staring at the clouds, not paying attention to anything else when he heard the rustling of the grass. He blinked slowly and glanced over at the Uchiha when they stopped beside him.

After a moment, the boy lowered themself to lay next to him wordlessly.

"You've been there for two hours today and four yesterday and two the day before that and now you don't even say anything?"

Sasuke sighed.

"I was trying to think of what I _could_ say to you. Now I figured, I'd just let my silence do the

talking. You like silence, anyway."

"Mendoukusai... Have you changed so much that you can't even say 'hello' to the people you've known other than Naruto and Sakura?"

Sasuke stiffened. "I've just... I don't know what to say to anyone other than them anymore. I mean, it's not like when we were kids and would just flop down and say 'hey'."

"Isn't it?"

"Stop being such a simpleton right now. You know it, too."

"I'd still like to think of myself as a kid..."

"That's only because of our ages. We're technically adults now that we're shinobi. You've not killed someone yet."

"Ah...That would explain why you're acting the way you are. Death isn't something people like, but it's a necessary thing in our world."

"I know that. I just..."

"I'm not blaming you."

"I know."

They lapsed into silence. Sasuke focused his attention on the clouds. He tried to make out some shapes but he was never good with his imagination. Other than using it to come up with ways to harm or kill someone.

"A frog." Shikamaru said suddenly.

"Huh?" Nice one, Sasuke, he thought to himself.

"It's in the shape of a frog."

Sasuke squinted, staring hard at the cloud. "Kinda. I guess so. I've never really been able to make out shapes in the clouds."

"Tch. It's easy."

"Not to me. I'm different."

"How are you different?"

"When people say 'it's easy', with something they're good at, it's always hard to me. To things people find hard, it's easy to me. It's always been like that. It's as if I'm walking on the other side of the fence from everyone else."

"Hm... You might be. But that doesn't mean you should stop trying."

Sasuke sighed again. This was only bringing up memories. He sat up and made to get up. Shikamaru's hand closed around his wrist.

"Stay."

Sasuke glanced back over to the other. The words were too familiar. Numbly, he let himself fall back again. His eyes shut and he did his best to ignore his mind and the memories swimming through it.

"You're never gonna see the sky if you keep your eyes closed," Shikamaru mumbled annoyedly.

Sasuke forced his eyes open and sighed again. "It's kind of hard to stare at something to endless, though."

"The endlessness is what I love best. It makes me feel small in comparrison. Small, but not insignificant. At the same time, I feel important. Because I'm here, in this world, under this sky. I'm here for a reason."

Sasuke wanted to say something, but he didn't. He couldn't. He stared at the clouds again and tried his best to think of their shapes and what they could look like. It just didn't come easily for him. He spent years out in the fields with Shikamaru and their children and he still never could get it. Not even when Mikoto or Itachi would point it out to him.

"Chou," He finally said, tilting his head to the left.

"Huh?"

"Chou. It looks like a butterfly."

Blinking, the other stared at the cloud infront of him before he turned his head like Sasuke had and looked again.

"Huh... I guess it does kinda."

"I told you I'm not good at this."

"But you're trying. That's a good thing."

"If you say so..."

They fell into silence and Sasuke found his eyelids lowering. There was just something about the way the light breeze blowing across his skin, the rustling of the grass and the serenity that lulled him into a dazed state. Nostalgic memories swam across his consciousness, the images of the fields and laughter, the soft voices in conversation. He could remember it all. Then he... He'd been so foolish then...

But, at least... He'd gotten it back and more... And now, in this timeline... Could this be enough? Just this? It hurt him a little to think of it. No, it wouldn't be enough. But he could live with it.

"Ne,"

His eyes opened, he didn't know they'd closed.

"Hm?"

"Why have you been following me, anyway?"

He chuckled softly. "Is it a surprise that I want to be social in my own way? I wanted to come up with a way to approach you, but I couldn't think of anything to say."

"That's kind of stupid, even for you."

"I guess so... But there's something about you that's different. Your silence... is different from Shino's, and I can only stand talking for so long. Sometimes I... I need a silence that's clear and not clouded. Yours is like that. It's...open."

"You make no sense, Uchiha."

"Maybe not, but at least I'm trying."

They lapsed into a long silence.

"...Want to play a game of Go?"

"Sure."

----------

Naruto shed his shirt as he walked into his apartment. He flopped back down on his mattress for a moment and thought hard about how he was going to free the Kyuubi. The fox had changed, living inside of him. He wouldn't attack humans needlessly now. But, should he? Should he go against the Yondaime, his own father, who had sealed the beast inside of him?

He had promised, though. So, even if the answer would be no, he would do it anyway. He kept his word, even if his judgment was impaired. That's just how he was. He couldn't break his own word. If he was going to be hokage, he had to keep his words, good; or bad. And admit when he is wrong. He sighed again before he stood up and stretched.

"Alright, fox. I'm gonna get you out of me now." He mumbled aloud. He knew the fox heard him. He always did.

He made a seal and a Kage bunshin popped up. No flaws, no defects, just a solid replica standing infront of him. He closed his eyes and relaxed. He went into a near trance-like state as he began to form seals, channeling his chakra precisely into what he was doing. It was easier this time around, Mikoto had helped him refine his control so much, he could do almost all of his jutsus perfectly now.

Once he finished the series of seals, he pushed his hand over the replica seal on the bunshin's stomach. It wavered midway between dispersing from the over abundance of chakra, before it solidified.

"Life string seal complete. Now..."

He began another series of seals, forming a completely new layer to it. He made a few different seals as the line before, before pushing the seal over the new one. This time, the bunshin didn't waver, or even flinch much. The life string seal kept it from dispersing from the over amount of chakra being pushed into it.

"Soul string seal complete."

Naruto nodded to his clone and grinned a little. Now the clone was completely like a regular human. It wouldn't disperse unless he was dead or if he dispersed it himself.

"Alright. Now... Here comes the tricky part."

He motioned for the clone to sit on the floor and he joined it. This would take a while.

He began forming seals, the bunshin copying every single one. It was a long jutsu and it took the good portion of three hours for Naruto to complete it. The seal on his stomach twisted and moved a little, as if 'unlocking' something. Performing another set of hand seals quickly, he bit his thumb and smeared it across the mirror seal on the clone.

"Soul switch."

There was a bright light, a red glow enveloped the clone, similar to when Naruto went demonic. Nine tails of pure chakra split out, ears, their eyes went red, sharp fangs and claws emerged. It was both fascinating and grotesque to the owner.

Soon enough, the glow died down and when it wore off, standing infront of him was a completely new figure compared to the way the clone had first showed up as. Delicately shaped eyes, long thick lashes partially covered over crimson eyes, an angular slope of the jaw, full lips, pale skin. Long, beautiful orangy-red hair hung down to the back of the waist, curling at the edges almost like a tail.

"It...worked." Kyuubi murmured as they stared down at their humanistic hands, the only slight difference was their naturally long, pointed nails.

Naruto smiled. "Yeah, I guess it did."

The other looked over at Naruto seriously, expression awestruck and if not a little humble.

"Thank you... This freedom... To see the world once again with my own eyes. I thought I never would see it again."

Naruto looked away sheepishly. "You know, it's a little weird hearing thanks from you. But...you're welcome. You are free. You can leave, you can stay. Whichever you choose, it's okay. But... I do think I'll miss you. My body and mind already feels a little weird, as if something's missing.

The fox nodded slightly. "I feel like that as well. I think... I think I will stay. For a little while. It will take some time to adapt to this form. Will you show me?"

"Of course. But, you need a new name."

"Pick one for me and be done with it, brat." The insult sounded more affectionate to the blond now than it had been when he'd first met the demon. He was almost glad it was this way.

"Kurama. I think it should be Kurama. A beautiful name for a beautiful face." Naruto smiled widely, nodding.

"Very well, then. Kurama is shall be."

"Come on, let's get you dressed, fox. I have some clothes other than orange that I think you'll enjoy."

"Oh, good. Something other than orange is a welcome relief."

"Hey!"

"I've seen enough of it to last me the rest of the millenium."

Naruto pouted but didn't reply.

He gave the fox some black, baggy shinobi pants, and a charcoal-grey turtleneck shirt and some sandals. Thankfully, the fox's build was still mostly similar to Naruto's so the clothes and sandals fit. Naruto nodded and gave an encouraging smile when 'Kurama' looked themself over.

"It's acceptable. Thank you."

"We can always go shopping for more clothes later. For now, I need to take you with me to see the Sandaime."

"For what?"

"To tell him that this is you and so the anbu won't kill you on the spot for being an intruder. You've got a distinctive face now, you don't look like anyone from around here."

"Fine, fine. You win, brat. Let's go."

The fox made to move, but their legs buckled and wobbled beneath them. They weren't used to walking on two legs. Naruto caught them by the arm and looped their's between his elbow to steady him. "You can lean on me until you get used to it. Let's get going."

Needless to say, once the Sandaime found out the truth, he was very stunned to say the least.

**TBC**


	8. Chapter 6

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** And now, here's a pretty, shiny new chapter for you all to enjoy. =D Yay, the appearance of Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro! HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO! -strikes up the chorus- -shot- xDD

* * *

Itachi leaped down into the front lawn of his house and entered silently. He went to his room and began to pack up a few things into a small scroll.

A knock came to his door and Sasuke entered. "Another mission?"

Itachi nodded, only slightly startled by his brother's uncanny ability to know when he was home, whether he let him know or not.

"I'm going on an escort mission to Suna. It's...a special occasion."

Sasuke stared long and hard, brows furrowed in thought, before the words came whispering past his lips. "Gaara, right?"

The startled, surprised look on Itachi's face was priceless to him.

"Gaara told me once that you had tried to kill him in the past... There was more to the story, but he never told me it. I was merely guessing."

"I watch after Gaara a lot when I'm away. My missions generally are to go watch him. I've...become somewhat of a guardian over him."

"Does this mean I have to share you as a brother?" There was a teasing in his voice even as he made a pout. He didn't really mind. If Gaara needed anything, it was a stability of a friend and someone to lean on. If his brother was that stability, then he didn't mind.

"You're so selfish, otouto."

"I actually don't really mind. He needs someone like you to keep him sane. Also the Sharingan helps calm the bijuu with the hypnotic effects."

Itachi looked surprised at what he'd told him, but soon recovered soon after. "Maybe you and your companions would be his friends. I was planning on asking mother to let them stay with us."

Sasuke's body trembled for just a moment, flashes of memories ran through his head of Gaara. Most of them were unpleasant. He was a little skeptical at what his brother was suggesting.

"Naruto and him would get along better. Naruto can relate more. They were best friends in the old timeline."

"This is a different timeline, things are unstable now. You've already began to unthread the old and weave anew."

Sasuke couldn't argue with that, it was already true.

"Shouldn't you be going off to see your beloved?"

Instantly, Sasuke's expression darkened. "Shut up."

Itachi only smiled in return. He gave a ruffle to his otouto's hair. "Be good, my kawaii otou. I'll be back in a couple of days."

He left Sasuke standing there, half-scowling, half-pouting. He stomped his foot like a child's, a fine blush marring his cheeks at being treated like such a child. He checked the clock. "Holy sh--" He bolted off. He was late!

------

"Naruto-niisan!"

Naruto inwardly groaned. He should've seen it coming. In all of his effort to get ready for the upcoming Chuunin exams and get 'Kurama' settled into his new body, he'd completely forgotten the minor details. It had been three days since he freed the demon and today was the day Kakashi sprung it on them that they were going to participate in the exams, even though they already knew it was going to happen.

"Not now, Konohamaru. I'm busy!"

Behind him, the fox snorted.

"Who's that?"

"My new friend, Kurama. We're running late as it is,"

"Where are you going?"

"To meet up with some more of my friends. I don't have time for twenty questions!" He'd grabbed 'Kurama's' wrist and was trying to drag them away at all haste.

"Can I--"

"NO!" This time it was both Naruto and the Kyuubi's voice.

They left the boy behind to pout like mad.

Just at that time, there was a shadow looming over him. When he turned, his eyes widened and he ran off screaming.

"Jeez, Kankuro. Must you look so fucking horrible wearing that damn makeup?" A blond, four-pony-tail wearing teen asked as she put her hands on her hips in contempt. She had a large iron fan strapped to her back.

"It's _not makeup_, Temari!" The figure countered. They wore bright purple lines across their face and wore a black body-suit and had something wrapped strapped onto their back.

A smaller figure passed between the two of them. "Shut up, you fools."

The two immediately fell silent. The figure had short unruly red hair, a plain shinobi-like garb with a large gourd strapped to their back.

Itachi stepped up, in his anbu garb. He regarded the three with amusement beneath the mask. He was almost baffled at how the three were siblings. None of them were anything alike. In look, manner, or anything else. Temari may have been the oldest of the three, but Gaara, the youngest, was still clearly in charge. That was because they feared him.

Feared him, but at the same time, loved him in their own way. He winced as he recalled what Sasuke had said he could have done if he hadn't have prevented him. He would've made his own brother fear and hate him. And yet through it all, he still loved him. He shook for a moment before he shook his head.

He noticed the three were watching him and he nodded before beginning to walk towards the training fields.

----

"Mendoukusai," Shikamaru muttered as Sasuke let himself collapse down beside him under a tree.

"You don't sound too enthused."

"When am I _ever_ enthused?"

"Touche." Sasuke chuckled softly.

Sakura huffed as she came to a near-skidded stop. From the force, she got knocked onto her butt with an undignified squeak.

"I hope you didn't squish the sandwiches." Shikamaru mumbled as he chewed on a piece of grass. He shuddered inwardly at the death glare he received. 'Women are definitely scary,' He thought to himself.

"OIIIIIII!!" Came a loud yell.

All three winced at how loud it was. It could've been heard clear across the fire nation nearly. Over the hill came Naruto's orange clad form, followed by Kurama's monochrome figure.

Shikamaru's brow rose. "Who's that?"

"That's Kurama. He's new around here. Naruto adopted him like a lost puppy." Sasuke said with a light smirk.

"Wonderful."

Sakura snorted. She wanted to make a comment about a fox instead of a puppy, but she held it back.

Soon, the two reached them and Naruto flopped down immediately, panting. "Whew, that was close. Stupid Konohamaru."

The Kyuubi snorted, but sat himself down awkwardly, giving a strained, polite smile to the three. It was difficult for the fox to be nice all the time to these humans. Especially when he remembered Naruto's memories and the way they'd treated him before.

But, they had changed. Things had changed. The fox himself was a testament about how things could change. And as it was, he could tell that Sasuke and Sakura were uneasy, well, wary at least of him being out. He didn't really blame them for that, giving his reputation.

Though he was appeased a little when the Nara boy regarded him for a long moment before giving an approving nod and went back to his cloud-viewing. He idly wondered if he'd be so comfortable if he knew who he really was. Perhaps some part of them had already known, he knew how analytical and perceptive they were.

"I'm gonna wander off for a while, Naruto." He murmured as he got up.

"You just got here, though!" Naruto complained.

"I just don't want to intrude on your time with your friends. There's always a next time. It's not like the world's ending today." He chuckled at his own irony and could see the utter look of sheer disbelief that Sakura and Naruto were giving him. Sasuke looked amused.

"Besides, you're getting company in a few moments."

"Huh??"

"My sense of smell is very keen. Foreigners. And one bares a Konoha scent."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "He's back? Then that means...he's brought..."

Naruto and Sakura winced the slightest.

Shikamaru seemed to have noticed. "What's wrong?"

"My brother was sent to escort a group of genin and their sensei to Konoha for the Chuunin exams." Sasuke explained.

And true to Kyuubi's word, four figures appeared.

Gaara stiffened at the sight of so many people. He didn't like crowds. He stared long and hard at the Kyuubi, before his eyes widened and he clutched his head. The demon inside of him was raging and cowering with fear. It recognized the presence the other gave off.

Itachi was alarmed by this and was about to take his mask off to activate the sharingan, but the redheaded boy waved his hand and stepped close to the boy.

"Be at peace, brother. I mean no ill harm to you or your vessel."

At once, Gaara stilled, eyes still wide, he trembled. It was the first time a strong surge of fear had ever struck him before. It made him wonder who this being was, that had such power over the entity inside of him.

"How do you know Gaara bares...?" The girl of the group demanded to the Kyuubi.

"Because I am of similar kind. I am in the flesh, my Host has bound me to human form."

All was silent.

"Kyuubi." Shikamaru and Itachi said at once after a moment.

Naruto looked away, looking almost afraid, or ashamed.

"I am intrigued by this, Naruto-kun. You will have to tell me more some other time. I must report to the Hokage now. Gaara, will you be alright?"

Upon the elder Uchiha's question, Gaara straightened and nodded silently.

"Very well. I will return once I am finished with my errands." With that, the male was gone in a swirl of leaves.

Kyuubi smiled grimly. "That was why I was wishing to be away, Naruto."

"I see that now."

Sakura stood up and put on a smile. "Please, it must have been a tiring journey from here to Suna if you made it here so fast. Please, sit down. I brought plenty of sandwiches and lemonade if you would like any."

Naruto smiled gratefully towards the girl who only smiled wider in return. Sakura was the better host of the three, thanks to Shizune's lessons and the like.

A little bit wary, the three did sit. Sakura unsealed a large scroll and took out a blanket and unfolded it before placing six plates generously piled with sandwiches and brought out three large pitchers of lemonade with plenty of glasses to go along with it.

Shikamaru stared for a long moment. "Wow." He finally managed to murmur.

"Sakura can pack almost anything in a scroll. I swear, she's magic." Naruto grinned.

Sasuke snorted. He'd been unconsciously leaning towards the side and only now realized it when he found he was leaning completely shoulder to shoulder with Shikamaru. He didn't really feel like moving.

"Are you enjoying invading my space?" Shikamaru asked, amusedly.

"What space?"

"My thoughts exactly."

"Sometimes I wonder if you're both separate entities or a symbiotic one."

Looking at Sakura for a moment, the two replied, exactly at the same time: "Mendoukusai."

At this, Naruto howled, falling backwards as he clutched his stomach as he laughed.

'Kurama' cracked an amused smirk. "Does that answer your wondering?"

"I guess so."

Sakura turned her attention back to the three, taking out three spare plates and offered them out kindly. "Here. Take as much as you'd like. My name's Sakura. The laughing baboon is Naruto, the two lazy ones are Shikamaru and Sasuke, and, for all intents and purposes, we call the demon entity sitting there, Kurama."

Being the oldest and therefore the one to watch out for the other two, took a plate first and one sandwich with a murmur of 'thank you' and took a small bite, testingly. Judging it adequete she took another bite.

Knowing their sister had deemed it alright, the other two took the offered plates as well and each took a sandwich. Gaara merely nibbled at it a little. He was too busy observing the others and sometimes his gaze would linger on the demon fox, and each time, he could feel the demon inside of him shiver. How was it that such an entity, in human form or not, possibly command such fear from his?

As if knowing his thoughts, the Kyuubi finally spoke up.

"Your demon is merely a one-tail. I am Kyuubi of the Ninetails. My power is hundrethfold what yours has. It fears me because of that. Yet, because of my Host and the terms underwhich I am free, I shall not harm you and in turn, it. There is no need for me to attack a lesser demon, anyway. I'm more concerned about the eight-tails that resides within another human by far."

"Wait, the eight-tails was sealed??" Naruto asked with wide-eyes.

"We'll discuss it later, dobe." Sasuke interrupted, sounding a little sleepy. "For now, just shut up and eat."

With the subtlest of pouts, the blond did just that.

Gaara's gaze went to the other Uchiha. "So you are Itachi's younger brother..."

Sasuke nodded his head with a light smile. "I am."

"He was right when he said you looked a lot like him." Temari spoke up after a moment as she finished off her second sandwich.

"If genetics play out right, I'll probably look even more like him when I'm older," Sasuke replied, forcing his smile just a little wider.

"Sometimes it bothers me, but, there's nothing wrong with my looking like him. I'm proud of him, so I should be proud I look like him. He is a highly revered Shinobi."

Gaara nodded in agreement. "He is very formidable. He managed to tame the demon inside of me..."

"Our kekkei genkai can hypnotize even the bijuu. But the Senjuu's ability is rumored to have a better way."

The Kyuubi spoke up. "They are bretheren in human flesh. Their kekkei genkai is one with nature and we demons are of nature itself as well. Their energy soothes our bloodlust, but it can also enhance our power, if needed. Your Sharingan can only hypnotize us or put us back into dormancy if we are within a host."

"Is that how the Shodaime calmed you?" Gaara asked softly.

"Yes. He brought me out of the frenzied bloodlust rage that Madara had tranced me into."

"Dare I ask why you attacked Konoha?" Kankuro finally spoke up.

"Ah, that... That is another doing of Madara. He once again found me, how, I don't know, and put me under the Sharingan's spell. Once again, I was empowered with rage and could only think: Destroy. And so I did. Mindlessly. I was spiteful of humans as it was because of what he'd done, so when I was sealed inside of this gaki, I was spiteful for a long while. But...I changed.

"Watching the world through his eyes and mind allowed me to see that people change, humans are not all alike. He offered to free me into a human body if I abide by his terms and conditions that I won't harm another human unless they come with the intent to kill or harm me."

Naruto smiled a little. "I figured out a little loophole in the seal so that he can be free without me dying. I simply used a modified Kage bunshin and transferred his consciousness into it."

Shikamaru made a thoughtful sound. "That's actually a very good idea... I wouldn't have thought you'd be able to come up with that, Naruto."

"Hey, I can come up with some good things every once in a while, give me some credit."

"Okay, okay. Calm down."

"Darui..." Sasuke mumbled sleepily.

"Amen." Shikamaru muttered back.

"Yep. Definitely a symbiotic entity." Sakura said with a nod.

"Sooo, can I do the question asking?"

"I guess," Kankuro said with a shrug.

"Can we know your names first? I think Sasuke already knows about you," Naruto said, pointing at Gaara. "From Itachi. But...the rest of us are kinda outta the loop."

Temari snorted. "I'm Temari. I'm the oldest. These two are my brothers."

"Kankuro."

"Gaara..."

Naruto beamed widely. "Nice to meet you all! I'm Uzumaki-Namikaze, Naruto!"

"Namikaze...?" Gaara asked. "Wasn't that the name of..."

"..The Yondaime? Yep. He's my father."

Kankuro and Temari held shocked looks while Gaara looked a little more thoughtful.

"So why Uzumaki?" Temari finally asked after absorbing the situation.

"It was my mother's last name. They wanted me to bare my mother's last name so my father's enemies wouldn't come after me. Iwa would've jumped the chance and started the next great war if they had known."

"She's not alive?"

"No... She died after giving birth to me."

"Oh... I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's okay. I've got my friends, they're my family. Sasuke-teme, Sakura-chan, Shikamaru, and everyone else I know in Konoha. They're all my family. But I guess you could say I do, sorta, have a mom. Sasuke's mom kind of adopted me. I'm gatreful to her. She's watched after me since I was eight."

Gaara stared and wondered how someone so oppressed, holding a demon to himself could hold such radiance and smile so brightly.

"There are still people who scorn me and see me as 'the demon' itself, but I won't stop until I've won Konoha over and once I do that, then all of it will be my family and when I become Hokage, I will be like a father figure to the people. I would do anything to protect Konoha and my family."

To say it with such honesty and conviction, it had already won the hearts of Gaara and Temari. Gaara because he could see the pain and raw nerve endings in the honesty, but admired him nonetheless for how he swore to turn those that hated him into someone he cared about. Temari, because she could see a piece of her brother in Naruto and could see her brother becoming something similar if he could let go of the fear and hate towards the people who hated him.

"There you go, sounding mature and talking big again, Naruto." Shikamaru teased.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at him childishly. "You shut up. I don't see you doing anything grand."

"It's too troublesome."

"Troublesome," Sasuke agreed. He had his head lying on Shikamaru's shoulder with his eyes closed, and the other didn't seem to mind too much.

Sakura giggled. She wished she had her camera with her for a picture. It would make for a good picture to show the future Mikoto and Itachi.

Kankuro snorted. "What are you two, an item?"

"Not officially, shhh." Naruto said with a wink, teasing.

"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke said with a blush, cracking one eye open to glare at the blond.

"Mendoukusai..." Shikamaru mumbled, a small blush on his own face.

"They're in denial." Sakura added in with a know-it-all nod.

Temari let out a laugh. "Total denial."

"Couldn't you have just left it as 'symbiotic entity'?" Sasuke pouted.

"Nope!"

"If I wasn't so comfortable right now, I'd beat you two..."

"No, you just don't want to move away from him. Admit it."

"Oh, yes, I don't want to move away from him because I'm iso/i obviously in love with him, let's dramatize this even more." He replied with a sarcastic roll of the eyes, though the blush on his face remained and lessened some of the sarcasm.

"Mendoukusai... Can we argue about whether we're in denial or not later and actually eat?"

"Fine, but you're not getting off the hook later."

Although halfway unwilling, Sasuke did pull away and took a sandwich for himself and a glass of lemonade and leaned back against the tree to enjoy it.

They chatted about the upcoming chuunin exams and after they'd finished the sandwiches and lemonade off, it was around an hour later that Itachi reappeared.

"I've arranged your accomodations. You three will stay at our house."

"You didn't have to go that far!" Temari protested.

Itachi smiled beneath his mask. "It's no trouble. After the massacre, there's plenty of room for you three. Mother would enjoy the company."

Sasuke nodded to accentuate his brother's words.

-----

Later that evening, the full accomodation was that Gaara would share a room with Itachi, upon his request. For the fact that Itachi was the only person Gaara really trusted and he was the only one that could keep his demon in check.

Temari would get the room two doors away from Sasuke's and Kankuro would get the one adjoined to hers.

Naruto would stay in Sasuke's room with him.

'Kurama' had respectfully declined the offer to stay, because he knew it would possibly upset the delicate balance that Gaara had with his demon and went back to Naruto's apartment to sleep.

Outside the complex, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto held a little pow-wow of their own.

"We'll have to tell the Sandaime about everything tomorrow."

"And we'll have to tell Kakashi, too. He'll have to know."

"I'll also have to find Ero-sennin and convince him somehow."

"Looks like there's some work to be done..."

"And onto other matters...why won't you just admit it to him?"

"Don't start this again, Sakura."

"Seriously, Sasuke. It's beginning to piss me off. You two skirt around one another, I can see it."

"First of all. I'm...scared, okay? It's hard for me to fully love this one when I still have the memories of the old. It feels almost wrong to compare either and yet I find myself doing it all the time. Secondly... I want him to make the first move.

"If he wants me, and is smart enough, he'll find some way to let me know. I don't want to push it onto him, I love him too much for that. As painful as it is waiting, I'd rather wait than push it on him and have him reject me entirely."

"Oh, Sasuke..."

"You're really a sap."

"Naruto!"

"Oww..." Naruto rubbed his head where Sakura hit him.

"Anyway, now that we've cleared up our plans for tomorrow, let's go to bed. I'm tired."

"I think you really did osmose some of Shikamaru's laziness."

With an amused sound, Sasuke adopted a lazy look and drawled out in a slow fashion. "Mendoukusai."

"...That's actually scary. Don't ever do that ever again." Naruto said, making a face.

Sakura laughed. "Alright, I'm gonna go home now. I'll see you two later!"

"Night, Sakura-chan!"

"Hn. Night."

With a wave, the girl jogged off.

"You done with your get-together?" Naruto and Sasuke jumped at the voice. Itachi appeared from out of the shadows, looking vaguely amused.

"It's impolite to eavesdrop, niisan." Sasuke said childishly.

"It's not as if you three were rather secretive about it."

"To you, maybe." Naruto pouted.

"Hn."

They made their way inside and Sasuke and Naruto went to bed.

Itachi made his way to his room to find Gaara still sitting there where he'd left him, looking to be in deep thought.

"Itachi... I've something to tell you. It's important. It's--"

Itachi shook his head, placing a finger over the redhead's lips.

"I've a guess at what it is you wish to discuss, but now is not the time. The walls have ears and eyes. We'll discuss this tomorrow. For now, you should rest."

"You will stay with me?"

Itachi smiled a little wider before he nodded. "Yes."

Itachi shed down to just his shinobi pants and climbed into the bed. Beside him, Gaara looked hesitant, but slowly moved until he was underneath the covers, pressing against the older boy's side. Their arm wound around his waist loosely and he tensed for a moment, before relaxing again after a moment. He laid his head down on Itachi's shoulder and closed his eyes. He was still fearful of sleeping, but so far, every time he did sleep while Itachi was around, his demon never acted up.

Itachi stayed up and kept watch over the boy until he could tell he had fallen into a complete slumber. He made a one-handed seal and a kage bunshin popped up. He nodded to it before he let his eyes close and willed himself into a slumber.

The clone sat down at the edge of the bed and kept watch over the two vigilantly for the rest of the night.

**TBC**


	9. Chapter 7

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** Annnnd nowwww, I FINALLY bring to you people a new update! Sorry my lovelies, I got caught up in a new fandom for a bit! But! I will not abandon my adoring fans! =D Sometimes updating may be few and far between, but I will not forget you!

* * *

The next morning, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto met up outside the complex and split their tasks up between them. Naruto would go find Jiraiya and convince him, Sakura would go tell Kakashi, and Sasuke would stay and speak with Itachi, and they would all meet up at the Sandaime's office to go tell him.

Naruto set out with a wave and a grin, yelling a thanks to Mikoto for breakfast and all but sped out at a pace that rivaled Rock Lee's.

Sakura formally bowed and smiled, thanking the woman before going off to the Memorial stone to find Kakashi.

Sasuke watched them leave silently, sighing before bowing his head. It was going to be hard to speak with his brother, because Gaara was nearly plastered to his side and refused to go anywhere without him. It amused Kankuro and Temari. He'd already overheard Temari giggling to Kankuro about it all and the very thought of Gaara having a childish crush on his brother seemed so absurd to him.

But, all the tell-tale signs were there and he found himself studying the redhead a lot more than he'd ever thought he would. Gaara looked up from where he was sitting at the table, meeting his gaze. Sasuke froze for a moment, a chill of fear running down his spine, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He could remember very well the piercing gaze the other had held in the Chuunin exams.

This look was nowhere near the expression, but he could still remember it vividly. He nodded at the redhead acceptingly with the slightest hints of a smile. He could see the briefest look of surprise flash through their eyes before the Shukaku holder nodded back. He turned his attention to his brother who was sitting silently, lost in thought.

"Ita-nii," He called.

It took a minute, but the other finally responded by turning their eyes to them. "What is it, Sasuke?"

"I would like to speak with you about something important in a little while. It's about the Exams..." He made himself look a little nervous, if only for show because Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari were looking at him. He wanted to appear to be a little frightened of the exams, to not show his knowledge of the truth.

Itachi could already see past the front, he knew what his brother was talking about by now. He'd come to be able to distinguish when his brother was talking normally and when he was referring to the future. This was something that concerned the upcoming exam. He'd already had his suspicions something big was happening; he could sense it in the air and feel it in his core, a settling sense of unease, an ominousness that he could not identify.

"Very well. But if you're going to ask me for help--"

"No! It's not that! I just..." Sasuke made himself look half-indignant and put out.

"I know. The exams are a big thing to you. We'll talk later. Right now, I've somewhere to be. Gaara, you're coming, right?"

At the question, the redhead nodded, standing up. The older siblings looked confused. Gaara turned to them. "I won't be gone long... Don't do anything stupid."

Kankuro had the nerve to look insulted, but quickly covered it over at the sharp look his brother gave him.

Temari snorted. "Same to you,"

"Hm..." Was the only response they got as Gaara and Itachi disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Sasuke sighed, standing up from his chair and turned, slowly stalking away to go outside, mumbling to his mother that he was going to go train a little. He trained for an hour, getting a little impatient. He decided, he'd wander around town for a while before going to meet Sakura and Naruto, since Itachi would probably return at the evening. He'd rather be doing something half-way productive than to sit around and do next to nothing.

He was unaware that he had a follower. Or rather, two. Temari had gotten it into her head that it would be fun to follow the younger Uchiha boy, claiming it would be easier to figure him out to Kankuro. While the middle child protested, saying Gaara would be back, he sighed and finally gave in when he realized his older sister wasn't going to budge on the subject.

Sasuke made his way out to one training field in particular, smiling a little when he spied Shikamaru's lazy form lying there in the grass. He went over, unsurprised that they were asleep. He knelt down above their head, bracing his hands on the ground as he leaned over him. He watched their eyelids twitch a little at his casting shadow, now knowing the other was at least semi-conscious.

"Hey," He murmured softly.

After another twitch or two of their eyelids, Shikamaru's eyes slowly slitted open.

"...I could actually get used to waking up to this." Shikamaru mumbled lazily as he slipped one arm out from under his head to tug teasingly at the longish bangs the Uchiha had that had draped forward when he had leaned over him.

A small flush made its way to Sasuke's face before he looked away shy-like, still with a small smile on his face.

Behind a tree several yards away, Temari contained a squeal and Kankuro was rolling his eyes. He was one for letting sleeping dogs lie--or rather, sleeping shinobi as this was the case--because one he was a foreigner, two, he had no business with the Uchiha's affairs, and three there was already one huge weakness he had so why bother trying to figure more out? He rather liked to live, thank you.

Shikamaru pushed himself to sit up and Sasuke crawled over beside him.

"Anything interesting?" The lazy nin asked.

"Not really. Just wanting to pass the time. I'm waiting."

"For?"

"Some sort of sign, I guess. And to wait to go see Sakura and Naruto and meet at the Sandaime's office."

"A sign, eh?" Shikamaru grinned slightly.

"Yeah, you know, a sign. One of those damn righteous signs that everything is going according to plan or some kind of dumb thing like that?" Sasuke countered.

Shikamaru snorted. "I suppose that'll be a long wait."

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he shoved the other to the side, playfully. "Shut up. You're not helping."

"Was I supposed to?"

"No, but you're not helping my disposition any."

"What disposition?"

"Too much stuff to say in one breath. Mendoukusai."

"Heh. You've changed." Shikamaru said as he glanced over at the black-haired boy.

"I can remember how distant you were even when we were all little. The only people you were open to were Naruto and Sakura. But slowly as the years have gone by, you've...changed somehow. Different. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you're more...expressive?"

Sasuke smiled again as he leaned back on his elbows and let his head tip back to look up at the sky before replying.

"Yeah, I guess that's it. Before I didn't really have a reason to talk or interact with anyone. Naruto and Sakura forced their way into my life and became like my lifeline for a long time. Now, it's the same, but... I need, and want other people in my life. Being closed off was so lonely... Why should I suffer that pain when I can remedy that with a simple word or two?"

"That's what I mean about you. You're not as closed off and unapproachable anymore. You seem kinda normal now." Shikamaru said in return as he stared for another moment at the Uchiha adolescent before tearing his gaze away to look at the clouds.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all. I'm just saying how I see it. You're no longer this inapprochable, cold and quiet person. You're more open and lively. It's more normal-like, I guess. People don't think you have any sense of normalcy to you. I think they'd fry their circuts if they heard half of the things I have from you."

Sasuke snorted. "Oh, yes. I'm sure they'd be thrilled to hear the colourful things I have to say sometimes."

Chuckling softly, the shadow nin fell silent for a while, letting his eyes slip shut again to relax and enjoy the breeze.

Temari was a little vexed from where she stood. They were doing absolutely nothing! That Sakura girl was right--they were in total denial. She felt like smacking them both. "Hey, Kankuro--"

"Oh, no. No. I know what you're thinking. We're not going to play matchmakers and no, you're not going to make me use my chakra strings on them!" Kankuro replied hastily.

Temari glared at him which had him gulping a little in slight fear. He edged away just a little.

"Oi," A voice called at them.

They both turned and looked towards where the voice was coming from.

Shikamaru had his head tilted back and was staring directly at where they were.

"You can come out now. I've known you were there for a while."

Sasuke didn't look real pleased at the fact the two of them were there, because his eyes had narrowed into a glare and whatever open expressions he had then, were gone now. Kankuro shuddered and wanted to make a fast retreat but Temari defiantly had to stay as she stepped out, all with a ticked vein.

She was about to give them a piece of her mind, but Sasuke's cold stare coupled with the mildly murderous expression in his eyes stilled her. She trembled just the slightest. It reminded her too much of Gaara. Her rage died down, replaced once again with her normal self. She mumbled a quick apology before grabbing Kankuro and disappearing with him in a poof of smoke.

Sasuke let out a slight hiss as he let himself fall completely back onto the ground again. How dare they follow and intrude on his personal moments? He could guess the reasons why but still, the fact that they'd go so far as that to find out his weaknesses irked him. His fists clenched in the grass, tearing fistfuls out before repeating it. He seethed inwardly. He may have changed significantly in some ways, but his anger was still, undoubtably, the same.

Shikamaru seemed to notice this, for he turned onto his side and placed his free hand over Sasuke's clenched one, stilling him. The other breathed heavily, eyes locking onto Shikamaru's as if daring him to say something. He wanted a challenge, he wanted to lash out at someone. Any reason would do. Instead, nothing happened. Shikamaru leaned in a little, eyes lidded for a moment. His expression shifted.

"Why are you so upset?"

Sasuke bit his lip. "Because... They were invading a personal moment for me, and I... I don't want to share my time with you. It's...special."

The flush the dark haired boy once had came back with a vengance, making his entire face glow with a reddened hue as he looked away again, anger dying off under the scrutiny of the other.

"You're so complicated." Shikamaru mumbled quietly as he moved his hand to bring Sasuke's gaze back to him by brushing his fingertips along the slope of his cheek, turning his head back towards him. If anything, he got a brighter blush from the Uchiha. It made him smile a little.

"...Does it bother you?" Sasuke asked seriously, voice nearly a whisper. He stared up into Shikamaru's eyes, searching for a true answer, not a shielded one. He wanted to truly know he was wanted here andnot just because the other was too nice to tell him to go to hell.

His answer came in the form of a smile, and the brunette leaned in just a little farther, just enough until his lips briefly touched theirs. He barely lingered a second before he pulled away, lazy smile still in place.

"That answer your question?"

Sasuke stared for a long moment, the moment sinking in before he blushed even brighter if possible before looking shyly away again with the slightest of nods.

They lapsed into silence, it wasn't tense or awkward like Sasuke would have expected it to be. Then again, the laziest guy he ever knew had just kissed him like nothing so he supposed he could be wrong. It wasn't like before; it wasn't a deperate attempt to convey every thought or feeling to one another. This was simple; just a small assurance. It wasn't anything too special, right?

Yet somehow, it meant the entire world to the Uchiha. It made him happy, because it was the sign he was looking for.

------

A knock came to the Sandaime's door.

The old man sighed wearily, nodding to the figure standing there. They turned and went to the door, sliding it open for the knocker to enter.

"Ita-nii!"

Sasuke's voice held surprise as he, Sakura, and Naruto stood in the door way, Kakashi and Jiraiya in tow.

"Hello, otouto." Itachi replied as he stepped away and allowed the five to pile into the Hokage's office.

Gaara stood to the side curiously, wondering why so many powerful ninjas would be in one place.

"Old man! You've gotta listen to us, it's about the Chuunin Exams--" Naruto started hastily.

Gaara's eyes widened. Had they figured it out? How did they know? So many things swam through his mind.

The old man took a puff from his pipe before slowly blowing out the smoke and made a hmm-ing sound.

"Yes, Itachi and Gaara here were just now informing me of some troubling details concerning the Chuunin exams." The old man responded slowly.

"Wait--what?" Sakura asked, confused, looking over to Gaara unsure-like.

Sasuke put two and two together.

"You're...going to help Konoha? You've told them about Orochimaru and Sound?"

Gaara stood straighter, staring the youngest Uchiha in the eyes.

"I don't know how you know about this... But, yes... I've decided to tell the Hokage about the strange occurances in Suna... The plan was to attack in the middle of the Exams when no one was expecting... However, listening to Naruto's speech about becoming Hokage...hearing Itachi's story... How much he cares about you, I've decided... Konoha is worth saving."

"Gaara..." Naruto murmured, a lot of emotion in his voice at how he realized how much he had inspired the redhead.

Itachi smiled to himself and Sasuke nodded at the redhead acceptingly.

"Jiraiya, what a pleasant surprise. How long has it been?" The Sandaime continued, changing the subject.

The Sannin looked abashed. He didn't respond right away before mumbling something incoherent. To which, Naruto just stomped on his foot and glared at him. "Don't make me burn any _more_ of your writing and spying materials." He threatened. That got a squeak of fear from the Sannin before he actually answered properly.

"...A while, sensei."

"I had to bring him here to prove to him that I'm not crazy! That what I told him is all true!" Naruto yelled stubbornly.

The sandaime chuckled quietly before he nodded. "Yes, I figured as much. Jiraiya, I'm afraid that Naruto is absolutely right in what he claims."

Jiraiya sputtered, looking aghast. "But that's impossible! No one could know the future!"

Gaara's eyes widened. So that's how they knew?

"There are many things beyond our reckoning, Jiraiya, who's to say this is not one of them? These children have certainly proven that they do indeed, know the course of the future."

Itachi nodded in agreement to the Hokage's words. "My otouto is not a liar; what he showed me has erased all doubt from my mind that they're not making this up."

Kakashi spoke up for the first time. "I've been a part of their work; they saved two lives that in their past, had been killed in an incident that we prevented this time around. I believe they're doing this for the higher good of Konoha and those around them."

Sasuke stepped forward, looking grim. "Tell me something,"

"What?" Jiraiya replied.

"If it is impossible to travel through time, then, how is it I, a mere child, have this?" Without warning, his Sharingan activated. The star-like pattern appeared, swirling a few times before stilling and Sasuke stared at the Sannin infront of him.

"But, that's--!!" Jiraiya stuttered, jaw agape.

To the side, Gaara's own eyes had widened. His eyes were the same level as Itachi's? How? Who had he killed to get those eyes? He understood Itachi--he had told him, but...

"The Mangekyou, correct." Sasuke replied, monotone.

"How could I, a mere child, a genin have these powerful eyes? That is simple. My body was reverted back to a child's when we went through time. I still retain everything I had before. My eyes..." He looked over to Itachi who had stilled and looked ashamed almost, a saddened look in his eyes as he stared back.

"My eyes came from Itachi in the future. I prevented him from making the mistake of running away once he slaughtered the Clan."

Jiraya's gasp was ignored and Sasuke went on.

"In the future, he made me an Avenger, so I would kill him and make me a Hero in Konoha as well as get rid of his shame, but, I..." He trailed off, lower lip trembling.

Sakura and Naruto immediately stepped forward, each put their hand on Sasuke's back and shoulder. He smiled weakly at them, nodding.

"I left Konoha for power... Power Orochimaru promised me."

The Sandaime made a humming sound while Jiraiya was floored.

"I left everyone and everything I cared about for power. It was the only thing the future Itachi had drilled into my mind. I had my revenge...but...for a price. A price of knowing that everything I had ever thought I knew was wrong. If it had not been for the one I loved... I would have drown in despair."

Sasuke looked away once again, falling silent. Sakura picked up the pieces from there.

"Later, Sasuke came back... But... We'd went on a mission, and then... Then... It happened. There were too many, everywhere... We fought them all off, but..." Her eyes had teared up and gone cloudy as she remembered the pain, and everything that had happened.

"It was fatal," Naruto said solomnly.

"Not even the Fox could heal me. Using what strength I had left and the rest of the Kyuubi's chakra, I reversed time. It brought us back to when we were seven."

Sasuke's eyes died off from the Sharingan and he rubbed them, his body was still unused to how strong the power was and it made his eyes sting after using them. Kakashi looked just as solomn as he heard the full tale, now understanding why his team was so older and wiser than they were even as children.

"Now do you believe us, ko--" He stopped, immediately correcting himself on the title. "Ero-sennin." He grinned cheekily to cover up it up, but it didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke and Sakura. If Kakashi had heard it, he didn't let on.

"What'd you call me, brat??" Jiraiya countered with a huff.

"Ero-sennin. It fits you." Naruto repeated, grinning all the wider.

"I'll have you for that one!" The sannin roared as he lunged for the blond boy.

"That still doesn't answer if you believe us or not, you know." Naruto countered as he dodged to the left and the older man was sent rocketing forward into the wall with a loud thud.

The Sandaime chuckled, taking another puff from his pipe. "Give him time to let it all sink in, I'm sure he'll come to his senses once he's had the time to process it."

Naruto mock saluted at the Hokage, grinning cheekily. "Sure."

"Is that all you've come here for?"

"Nah, but it's all for the immediate future. We'll keep you informed."

The old man nodded, before turning to Itachi and Gaara.

"What do you plan to do about your siblings, Gaara?"

The redhead shrugged one shouldered-like. "I'll tell them the truth. If they get in my way when the time comes, I'll kill them. Simple as that."

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke shuddered. They both knew what the redhead said was true. However, Naruto knew his siblings would always follow him, so he wasn't too worried.

"Very well. You've all given me much to think about. I will take everything you've said into consideration. Thank you, you're all dismissed."

Nodding as one, everyone turned and exited the Hokage's office.

Naruto turned to Sasuke and Sakura. "Well! I'm gonna go train for a while. I'm too excited about the exams tomorrow!"

Sasuke snorted and Sakura rolled her eyes before gently knocking the blond on the head. "You're always excited. We'll see you."

With a wave, the boisterous blond Hiraishin'd in a flash of red.

Jiraiya blinked. "He knows Hiraishin?"

Sasuke and Sakura nodded.

"Why is his chakra signature red?"

"Because of Kyuubi. Even if he's seperated himself from Kurama, he's still got an abundance of his chakra inside him."

"Wait, wait, he FREED the thing?!"

"Oh, boy..." Sakura said, feeling a headache coming on.

Kakashi took that moment to slip away undeteted so the burden of explaining wouldn't be on him.

Sasuke scowled when he noticed the Jounin was gone but sighed.

"Long story... Listen good, I'm only gonna say it once, old man."

"You disrespectful brat, I'll--"

"You touch my otouto and you're as good as dead." Itachi said in a cold voice from where he was leaning against the wall. Gaara was at his side, and it went unnoticed to the untrained eye, but Sasuke noticed it--Gaara's arm was loosely, but discreetly wrapped around Itachi's like a lost child's almost. He smiled a little.

Jiraiya sputtered at the older Uchiha indignantly, but he didn't say anything more.

With a heavy sigh, Sasuke began to recant the whole tale...

-----

The next day the three met up at Sasuke's house early, Mikoto making them all a special breakfast to prepare them before she sent the three of them off each with a hug and a word of encouragement. They walked with Gaara and his siblings to their destination before breaking off. Kakashi greeted the three and gave them his own version of a pep talk, to which they were mostly unamused.

Kurama showed up and told Naruto not to screw up without him, even though they all knew what it was going to be like in there. With a wave, they entered the building.

They went through the motions, but bypassed the large crowd that were trapped inside of the genjutsu and headed up to the third floor.

Naruto had to be physically restrained by a hand on either shoulder by Sasuke and Sakura when they caught sight of Kabuto. Naruto's teeth clenched and for a moment, the canine's sharpened and his eyes flickered red before dying away. He wanted nothing more than to tear him to pieces.

Likewise, Sasuke felt like ramming a chidori straight through the older male's heart. Sakura's fist clenched so tight it ached. They silently took their seats before the others came in. The next Konoha genin team to enter was Shikamaru's and once the lazy nin caught sight of the Uchiha, a small smile cracked at his lips before he lazily went over and sat next to him, earning a jawdrop and a glare from Ino.

"Excuse me?" She demanded.

"You're excused!" Sakura called cheerily, grinning from ear to ear, earning a glare from the blond girl. She only wiggled her fingers back at her in return as a mock-wave.

Sasuke only smirked to himself. "I guess you didn't get caught in the genjutsu." He murmured to the other.

Shikamaru snorted. "A low one like that? No way. It just took a while to get past the crowd.

"And here I thought you had slept in."

"How could I on a day like this?"

"That's something, coming from you." The dark haired sharingan user chuckled.

The shadow-nin only gave a half-grin.

Ino glared jealously from where she was sitting a row up. Sakura only rolled her eyes. She wanted to tell her to get over it, but she didn't want to be rude. Instead her, inner Sakura yelled it for her inside of her head, making her feel a little better.

"Excuse me," A smooth voice spoke.

Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto all twitched. They recognized the voice.

Sasuke's head turned slowly and his eyes narrowed as they settled on the silver haired, glasses wearing medic-nin, Kabuto.

"Yes?" He managed to get out without letting the venom seep through.

"May I sit beside you?" The other asked with a would-be kind smile.

What could Sasuke say? He couldn't just deny them, but he didn't want to sit beside the other knowing who they were. He cringed inwardly.

"Actually," Naruto said loudly, with a grin. "Wanna sit by me? I promise I don't bite!"

Kabuto looked startled, casting his gaze to the blond haired boy almost calculatingly. He glanced back at Sasuke before giving another half-polite smile. "Sure. That would be great. I'm Kabuto Yakushi. And you are?"

Naruto wanted to rip the guy apart, but he knew Sasuke would snap if he had to sit next to them. Sasuke gave him a relieved look. He forced himself to smile brightly. "Uzumaki-Namikaze, Naruto! The next Hokage!"

"..." The other looked shocked at the information before smiling shakily, sweating just a little. "The next Hokage, hm...? I heard you were the lowest scoring one in the Academy..." He said slowly.

"How do you know that?!" Sakura demanded, already knowing the answer.

"These," Kabuto replied simply, holding up a card.

The three of them knew what it was in an instant.

"What are they?" Naruto asked.

Kabuto went through the explaination again and just finished when more of the teams began to pile in. It wasn't long before Ibiki and the other instructors came in and the test began.

Sasuke and Shikamaru sat side by side, Shikamaru with his head on the desk, not bothering with the test and Sasuke just staring off towards the wall.

He felt a tap on his foot. He blinked, glancing towards the other. They hadn't moved. He started to cast it off when another tap came. This time, he was sure it was the other. Without showing any emotion, he moved his foot and prodded the other's back.

Shikamaru twitched a little at the poke back, but did it again. He got a poke back. After another moment, he let his foot run up Sasuke's as high as he could without moving too much. He grinned a little at the small blush the marred the older boy's cheeks.

He nearly jumped and yelped when all of a sudden Sasuke's hand pinched him on the arm in response. He turned his head lazily and caught the other leering at him a little and he only smiled back. Sasuke looked a little put out at the smile and looked away.

Shikamaru moved his hand and placed it on Sasuke's arm, gaining the other's attention again. Slowly, without taking his gaze away, let his fingers slide down their arm to stop over their hand, covering theirs with his. Goosebumps formed on the Uchiha's arm and another blush made its way onto their face.

Sasuke slowly turned his wrist, moving his hand beneath the others until their hands were palm to palm. The lazy nin smiled wider in response.

Sakura watched the two flirt and sighed depressedly to herself as she glanced across the room until her eyes landed on Neji. Her heart clenched. Her Inner self raged, doing its best to cheer her up by saying all she had to do was wait, but waiting was beginning to be hard for her. Watching Sasuke and Shikamaru get so close so fast just reminded her that she was alone all the time.

Well, she wasn't ever really alone, alone; but she felt alone spiritually. She'd had a near-unshakable bond with the Hyuuga prodigy from the old timeline she'd been in. Nothing could have severed it, she would have died for him if it had ever come to that, and he would have, for her. A tear slipped down, but she wiped it away as soon as it started to fall. She went back to the test and did her best to concentrate on it instead.

Naruto just sat back and relaxed as best as he could with Kabuto sitting next to him. He was paranoid that the other would just lash out and attempt to kill him, even though he knew that the other would keep the facade of being friendly up for a while, but that didn't comfort him any.

Finally, the test was over and the Rookie nine had passed. Anko made her grand entrance and Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto all dreaded it.

The Forest of Death was about to begin...

**TBC**


	10. Chapter 8

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC: **And yet another update! I'm back into the groove! YAY! -dances-

* * *

**_-Night before the exams-_**

"What was it you wished to discuss with me?" Itachi said softly as he took a seat on his bed. Gaara was absent at Sasuke's formal request to speak with his older brother alone. Sasuke looked around cautiously.

"May I use a genjutsu? It's really important."

Itachi nodded slowly. "If you feel you must."

Sasuke smiled a little before activating his Sharingan and pulled his brother and himself into a genjutsu. This time around it wasn't just a blank abyss, it held Sakura trees and was a calm field. Sasuke took a seat and sighed as he tried to form the words he needed to say.

"It's about the Forest of Death tomorrow in the exams."

"What about them?"

"Well... Tomorrow, Orochimaru will be there."

Itachi's eyes widened a little. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, Ita-nii. He will be there. He will try to place his mark on me then. I barely survived it the first time. I'm going to need your help fighting him."

"You're...going to fight him?"

"Yes. I won't have a choice. If I run, he'll endanger my friends. Sakura, Naruto, and I will fight him. But we're still not strong enough to match him yet. I'll need your help if I'm to come out of the excursion unscathed and unmarked."

"I see. What am I to do?"

"Do you know how to reverse summon, brother?"

"I am familliar with the concepts, but I've never tried it...why?"

"I will place a temporary seal on you, similar to Naruto's Hiraishin seal. When the time comes, I will activate it to reverse summon you to our location. It's the fastest thing I can think of because before, it took everyone too long to get there and I got marked."

Itachi looked intrigued at the concept of it, before nodding a little. "Is there anyone else?"

"Naruto's going to summon Kakashi-sensei as well."

"I see. Very well. Is that all?"

"No... How do I say this? During the second half of the Exams, you'll need to be by the Hokage's side. Naruto and Sakura are going to tell Kakashi and Jiraiya this, too. But you're going to need to protect him... Orochimaru's going to try and assassinate him."

Itachi looked alarmed. "He's what?!"

"Yes... During the exams he posed as the Kazekage and during the seige on Konoha and tried to murder him. He didn't succeed, but came close... And then, after the destruction, came back and actually DID murder him. You need to watch after him. Naruto was so devestated when the old man died... He's like, a grandfather to him. At all costs, we need to protect him. At least until the time comes for us to find Tsunade and convince her to be the Godaime."

Itachi looked so shell-shocked, but slowly the information sunk in and he nodded shakily. "I understand. You need me to be there when you can't be, right?"

Sasuke smiled and nodded. "Yes."

"All right. I'll do what I can to prevent the Hokage's death. I'll need more details later, like the exact time and day later, but for now, we should leave this genjutsu. It's getting late and you have the exams tomorrow."

Sasuke nodded before releasing the genjutsu. They were instantly back in Itachi's room again and Sasuke looked around. "Let me do the sealing and then I'll go to bed. I won't have time in the morning. Just be ready for it, okay?"

Itachi nodded.

"Hold your arm out for me."

Itachi obeyed, reaching out his left arm. Sasuke took it and rolled the sleeve up to expose his forearm. After doing so, he began to quickly make seals and this lasted for a good two minutes before he placed his hand over Itachi's arm.

What looked like black runes ran up the length of Itachi's arm, curling around like vines and whisps before sinking into the skin and all the was left was the Uchiha clan symbol there on his inner forearm.

Itachi looked at it for a moment before nodding. "So that's it?"

"Yes. It's ready. Tomorrow, when I summon you, you'll feel a burning sensation for approximately two seconds before you're reverse summoned. Be ready."

Itachi nodded slowly before giving Sasuke a small push. "Go now. You should get as much rest for tomorrow if what you say is going to happen is true."

Sasuke nodded he made to move, but stopped. He hesitated, before moving and enveloping his brother in an embrace around the neck. "Thank you... I mean... I don't know... I'm just... I'm just so glad that you're here with me this time. I..."

Itachi's expression morphed from surprised to a soft one as he embraced his brother back. "So am I, otouto. I wouldn't miss watching you grow for the world. I want to be here for you whenever you need me."

Sasuke smiled and pulled away slowly. "Good night, Ita-nii."

"Oyasumi, otou."

Turning, Sasuke padded out of the room and Itachi listened to his steps until the door of their room closed.

Gaara entered several long moments afterward, looking a little concerned at the glossy, far away look in the elder Uchiha's eyes. "Itachi?"

In an instant, the older shinobi's eyes sharpened and looked over at him. "Yes?"

"You were off, is all." Came the soft, but monotone voice.

"My otouto gave me much to think about just now. I'm sorry."

Gaara nodded, before getting a vaguely curious expression on his face. "So it is true, then? They really know the future?"

"The future for us is their past. They're changing their past to make our future better. I have seen their reality with my own eyes."

Gaara looked a bit speechless but nodded after a moment. "What did he tell you?"

"He told me... Orochimaru is going to try and place a cursed mark on him." Itachi answered with a small frown, placing his hand over the seal his brother had given him.

"I see... So you will help them?"

"Yes... My brother has a plan."

"Mm."

Itachi smiled before reaching out and lightly grasping Gaara's arms to pull him closer until he was all but in his lap and brought one hand up to run lightly through the red locks of hair.

Gaara gasped quietly. "What--"

"Just relax. You need it."

The redhead wanted to protest, he didn't need anything, but the slow, repetitive motions through his hair had his eyes lowering halfway and before he knew it, his face was burried in the crook of Itachi's neck, arms around him loosely as his body relaxed against the older boy.

"Tomorrow will be trying, even for you. You need to relax and rest as much as you can."

Itachi's voice sounded like a soft purr in Gaara's ear and he could only nod dazedly as his eyes slid fully shut. It wasn't long at all until his breathing had evened out completely. Itachi only smiled as he stood up, lifting Gaara's body with him before going around to the side of the bed and settled the boy down on it. He gave the boy's hair one last pet before he slid away.

He quietly exited his room and padded down the hall to go take a shower.

------

**_-The next day -- The Forest of Death-_**

Sasuke sighed heavily. He felt a headache coming on. He, Sakura, and Naruto had rounded up the Rookie Nine and they were talking amongst themselves before the beginning of the trial. The ill feeling he had that he was being watched never left him, but he ignored it as best as possible.

Slowly, he looked up.

"Everyone," He spoke.

At once, they all fell silent and turned to look at him.

"We asked you here for a reason: The Forest of Death is no laughing matter. Sakura, Naruto, and I think it would be best if all of us stayed as a group. We're still mostly inexperienced genin, there is more safety in numbers than trying to go alone."

There was a murmur amongst thr groups, before almost everyone nodded.

Neji snorted, crossing his arms. "The point of the test is to see if we can make it as a three-man team, not to coddle one another by being in a large group. You're being foolish, Uchiha."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "There is no wrong way to get through the forest, thus, there is no point of it at all. Therefore, it would be more wise--and prudent--to go through it as a group. People will be expecting us to split up, the older genins will prey on us like mice. It's safer as a group."

"You're being an idiot."

Naruto glared. "He is not! You're being inflexible!"

Neji glared at the blond. "You're being a loud mouthed baboon who doesn't know when to keep their nose out of other people's business!"

Sakura got a vein tick. Angrily, she stomped over. "Take that back!"

Neji looked at her. "Why should I? There's nothing you can do, you're just as useless!"

Sakura's expression darkened. An aura formed around her that only few people recognized. Immediately, she was in Neji's face, had him by the collar, her eyes ablaze with fury.

"Listen, and listen well. You will not insult Sasuke, Naruto, or any of my friends. You will not insult _me_. If you've got a problem with cooperating with everyone, _you_ get all the scrolls on your own. If you try to start a fight, I swear to kami, I will rip your hitai-ate off your head and shove it SO FAR up your ass your Byakugan will go faulty, am I fucking clear?" She hissed at him.

"..." Neji stared at her with wide eyes, mouth agape slightly, speechless. Around them, everyone else was silent and in shock at her outburst.

"Good. Now, still think I'm useless?" Sakura let him go, smiling cheerily as if nothing had happened.

Everyone's perceptions of Sakura were shattered by the side she just showed. Well, except for Sasuke and Naruto's, who already knew how explosive she could be. She had a tempermental shishou, after all. Neji stayed quiet after that and Sasuke went back to explaining his reasons to them all as to why it would be easier and safer to go as a group.

Two minutes later, they were all in agreement they'd go together.

In actuality, Sasuke wanted them together to make it safer for the others so they wouldn't get caught up in the dangers of Orochimaru and the Sound. Once trouble started, he could send them off to safety easily. Naruto had already commented about how soft Sasuke was for the idea when he presented it to them the night before. That had earned him a smack from Sakura.

Ten minutes later, after Anko's explaination, the gates were opened and the rookie nine plus team gai entered the forest.

They walked about a mile inwards before Sasuke stopped. He turned to them all. "Alright, here's the plan: Sakura, I want you to go on a head for another mile and set up a small checkpoint."

Sakura nodded with a grin. "Got it!"

"Alone?" Some of the others questioned.

Sasuke nodded. "Yes, I trust Sakura. She's more than capable. We've been pushing her hard in training, she can handle it if a situation arises. She knows how to get in contact with us."

Without a word, Sakura jumped up into the trees and took off, jumping from one to another until she was out of sight.

"Ino," He began. Immediately, she was all over him smiling charimingly.

"Yeeeess, Sasuke-kun??"

He cringed, as did some of the others around him, but he put up with it.

"I would like for you to go out and use your genjutsu skills to set up some traps to the east of us. Lee, Kiba, would you please accompany her? Kiba, I need you to be able to smell if any one is coming and Lee, you'll be there to back the two of them up with your fighting experience."

Kiba nodded and Akamaru gave a yip while Lee flashed one of his bright grins and spouted off how he'd protect Ino and Kiba with his life because of the bloom of youth or something along those lines. Ino nodded and with a giggle and a promise to Sasuke, the three took off towards the east.

"Naruto, please head northwest of Sakura's location and use your shadow clones to set up traps there. Shino, Tenten, would you go with him?"

Tenten gave a salute while Shino merely nodded silently. Naruto grinned widely.

"You got it, Sasuke! We're off!" Without much ceremony, the blond boy took off at a sprint, leaving the other two running to catch up because of how fast he'd gotten.

"Hinata, I would like for you to head due west and set up a checkpoint there. Set up some traps there as well. I trust you to know when to retreat towards Sakura's location if you're confronted. Chouji, please go with her and watch over her."

Hinata fiddled with her fingers, looking unsure but she nodded slowly. "I'll do my best, S-sasuke-k-kun..." She took off at a run in that direction. Chouji just took a bite of his chips as he followed after her at a slower pace.

"Neji, I know you don't want to work with me, but I need your abilities. We're to stay here and set up traps here. Then we'll wait. Knowing how greedy some of these other genin's are, we'll get the scrolls in no time."

"You're playing it rather defensively, Uchiha." Neji mumbled, a little scathingly, but didn't bother to insult the other because he was still shaken from what Sakura said to him.

Shikamaru finally spoke up. "No, he just doesn't want to endanger everyone. He split everyone up according to their strength's and weaknesses. Think about it: Our teams are all speciallized in one thing or another, Sasuke split them up in a way they'd be able to watch after one another in case of something."

"So then, why are we here?"

"Because, as Sasuke said, he needs your eyes."

"Why are _you_ here?"

"Because he wants me to be, apparently."

Neji snorted, but didn't make a response.

"I need your strategies in case mine go wrong. Anything I could have overlooked and the like." Sasuke replied with a sigh.

------

Neji used his Bakugan while Shikamaru and Sasuke set up the traps carefully. Sasuke covered them with several genjutsu layers once they were finished. Once they were finished with that, they waited.

Sakura checked in with Sasuke an hour later and Sasuke nodded to her then sent her off again to go check on the others before reporting back in.

"Do you really trust her that much" Neji asked once the girl had gone.

Sasuke looked at him seriously. "With my life. She's stronger than she looks. She could splinter a large tree like this in one hit if she wanted. I have full faith in her and Naruto. If I had any doubt, I wouldn't have sent them off. Why, don't you trust yours?"

Neji didn't respond for a long time. "Not so much as you."

Sasuke sighed. "To each their own. But I know my teammate's strengths and weaknesses, I know what they're capable of. I wouldn't send them haphazardly into a possibly dangerous situation if I didn't."

Shikamaru was hanging upside down from a branch, with his hands behind his head. "Sasuke's right. I mean, they put us on three man teams for a reason, ne? We'd have to know our teammate's strengths and weaknesses. I trust Sasuke's judgement."

"That's because you're--"

Sakura came running back with wide eyes. "Sasuke! Trouble! Hinata and Chouji--"

That was all Sakura could get out from her wheezing before Sasuke and Shikamaru were down on the ground to meet her.

"Neji, please stay here--we'll go help them out."

Neji didn't look too happy, but he gave a nod of compliance to Sasuke.

Without anything else, Sasuke motioned for Sakura to lead the way and they took off.

--------

Hinata took a defensive stance shakily as she was back to back with Chouji, they were surrounded on three sides by two genin each.

"Heh-heh... Just hand over your scroll and we'll let you off without much trouble." One of them said, taking a step forward they wore a mist symbol on their hitai-ate.

"We-we don't have a scroll. O-Our leader does." Hinata stuttered softly.

"Hah! A likely story," Another one responded, they were a redheaded kunoichi with a mist symbol.

"I say we just kill them and get it over with," Another one voiced up, grinning sadistically.

Hinata's eyes widened with fear. Chouji did his best to be brave for her. "You won't!"

"Oh? Who says, fatty? You? You don't look like much but a lump of lard." The redhead taunted, placing her hands on her hips.

"D-don't call him that!" Hinata spoke up, doing her best not to look scared. As one, the group of genin began to close in on them.

"SHANNAROU!!!"

Before any of the group could make a move, they were all sent rocketing back by a large shockwave. Hinata fell to the ground with a squeak from the shaking and Chouji wobbled.

Sakura appeared infront of them, pulling her hand out of a large crater without a flinch.

Sasuke and Shikamaru appeared next. "Good work, Sakura. Hinata, Chouji, are you alright?"

Hinata stood up, looking shaken. "Y-yes... I-I'm f-fine." She mumbled.

Chouji looked angry. "They called me fat!"

Shikamaru winced. "Well, how about we show them otherwise, eh?"

By then, the other genin recovered.

"It doesn't matter how many of you there are! We'll trounce you and get all the scrolls!"

Sasuke snorted, taking a stance. "I'd like to see you try. Hinata, stay back. We'll handle it."

"R-right!"

Without any other premonition, Sasuke dashed forward, delivering a swift kick to the ribs of one of the genin, sending them flying into a tree.

Sakura leaped to engage one that tried to go after Hinata and gave them a hard uppercut to the jaw, making them fly upwards before she roundhoused them and sent them flying back.

Shikamaru and Chouji double-teamed one, Shikamaru trapping them in his Kagemane while Chouji bowled them over with his Nikudan Sensha.

Having taken three out in one go, Sasuke turned to the remaining. "Want to face the same fate?"

Shaking, the other genin tried to run, but got caught in Shikamaru's kagemane.

"Sakura, search them for scrolls."

Nodding, the pink haired girl went and searched them, taking four scrolls from them.

Shikamaru let them go the the three ran off into the forest.

Hinata watched them all with wide eyes, wishing she could be so strong and confidant like that. When Sakura turned to her and asked if she was okay, she broke out into tears.

"I-I-I was s-so sc-scared!" She confessed, hugging onto the girl and Sakura patted her back and fussed over her.

"Sakura, take Chouji and Hinata with you and gather the others. We'll go get Neji." Sasuke said softly, so as not to disturb the poor Hyuuga girl any more.

The girl nodded and Shikamaru gave Chouji a wave before taking off with Sasuke.

-----

They all met up at the mini-campsite Sakura set up. By then, Hinata had composed herself and was back to normal as much as she could be, though she was relieved to be back with her teammates again.

They all showed how many scrolls they got and how many more they needed.

"Two more until we've got enough." Sasuke said thoughtfully.

"I think we should start heading to the clear-zone and take out whoever gets in our way. There's more than enough of us to do so." Neji put in with a shrug.

"I guess we could do that. It doesn't really matter much anymore." Sasuke agreed with a nod.

Before they could even begin to head off, a voice broke into the air.

"Kukuku... What have we here? Twelve little genin all in a row..."

**TBC**


	11. Chapter 9

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC: **Here's another chapter for all you fans! Warning: Much shounen-ai towards the end of the chapter.

* * *

Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto all froze. The hair on the back of Sasuke's neck stood on end and his body trembled just the slightest.

"You're that Grass nin!" Kiba yelled.

"Everyone, go! Can't you feel it? They're no mere genin! Get out of here now!" Sasuke commanded loudly, taking a defensive stance at the pinnacle of the group, Naruto and Sakura rushing to the front to take stances as well.

The other's froze.

"But...what about you?" Shikamaru asked worriedly as he motioned for Ino and Chouji to begin backing away.

"How cute...standing up for your comrades..." The figure responded with a dark chuckle.

"Just go! We'll be okay! Trust me. We'll be right behind you!"

"You'd better be or I'll never forgive you!" Kiba yelled as he was pulling Hinata along by the arm, already taking off with Shino.

Shikamaru locked eyes with Sasuke for a moment before he nodded and turned. "Go!" He yelled at Ino and Chouji, who immediately reacted and began to run off into the forest.

"We will stay with you," Neji said stubbornly.

"No, don't. You don't know this enemy!" Sakura replied.

"Lee, Tenten! Drag Neji if you must, but get the hell outta here, you guys aren't any match for them!" Naruto yelled loudly.

Sasuke never took his eyes off the figure, he knew well who it was. Orochimaru... His hand twitched. He wanted to use a chidori and kill the man where he stood, but he could not.

Tenten and Lee nodded, before grabbing Neji by both arms and beginning to literally drag the stubborn Hyuuga away.

"Be safe!" Tenten called while Lee spouted something of the bloom of youth to protect them.

With a call of acknowledgement from Naruto, they all looked back at the figure.

"You can unveil yourself now...Orochimaru." Sasuke called.

"My, my. How ever did you know who I am when you are but a genin?" The figure peeled their 'face' off to reveal their snakelike visage. A look of disgust ran across Naruto's face and Sakura let out a hiss.

Sasuke snorted. "It's not hard to put two and two together."

"Ah, yes. You always were the brightest one, weren't you, Sasuke-kun? Being the top in everything... Just like your brother..."

Sasuke twitched. He wanted to tell them they knew nothing, but he had to play his part. "Tch! Whatever."

"Which is exactly what I want..."

A shudder ran down Sasuke's spine.

"Whatever, ya albino-freak." Naruto taunted as he cracked his knuckles.

Sakura stifled a giggle and all it seemed to do was anger the Sannin.

"Silence, fool!"

"Make me," Naruto responded with a yawn.

They were ready when Orochimaru's tongue flicked out like a deadly spear straight for the blond. Naruto dodged to the side, grabbing the Sannin's tongue and in an instant, twisted around with hisheels. With the Sannin's tongue hardened, it uprooted the snake user and sent him whirling off into atree.

"Damnation! You brat, you'll pay for that!"

Sasuke snorted aloud. "Nice one, Naruto."

"Well, I was actually debating on pouring toad sperm on it, but I decided that was more fun."

Sakura couldn't cover the laugh she had.

Without warning, Orochimaru pulled the Kusanagi from his mouth and leapt at them. Sasuke ducked low and charged, slamming his shoulder into the snake Sannin's chest, shoving him off balance so his swing just barely missed Sakura, but it did, however cut a few locks of her hair off.

"Great. Now I look like an amazon or something." Sakura stated annoyedly, cracking her knuckles.

"You're gonna pay for that. SHANNAROU!!"

She charged forward and reared her fist back, catching the rogue nin in an uppercut and sent him flying into a tree which, upon impact, sent many splinters everywhere.

"Damn!" The ninja cursed. "You punch like Tsunade."

"Well, what can I say? I admire her." Sakura replied flippitantly.

Sasuke and Naruto glanced at one another.

"Think we should?"

"Yeah, probably for the best. Even though I would like to have my fun, I really don't want the repercussions."

By then the Sannin picked himself out of the tree and was advancing on them.

"Sakura," Sasuke called.

"Way ahead of you!" She responded, already charging forward towards the rogue nin.

The snake prepared to strike her with his sword, but he froze. The sword went right through her.

"Genjutsu?" He questioned. Suddenly, his limbs moved on their own, he dropped the sword, his limbs swung out, then up slightly, shackles appeared on them, as did on his feet. Then, a loud 'mrawr' sounded beside him. He turned his head to see a large, _very_ large panther stalking towards him with a crazed, hungry look in their eyes.

"Cu-curse you!!" He yelled aloud as the panther leapt.

During that time, Sasuke and Naruto started forming seals.

They both bit their thumbs at the same moment before slaming their hands onto the ground.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

Just as the genjutsu was broken by the Sannin, he came to see two large poofs of smoke.

"Yo," Said one figure, who was holding a book. The other was dressed in an Anbu uniform with a wolf-mask on.

"Kakashi...how nice to see you," Orochimaru hissed.

Without warning, the Anbu figure drew a sword and leapt at the Sannin, slashing and stabbing with graceful, but precise strikes while Kakashi put his book away calmly and started to charge lightning to his palm.

During that moment, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura made their escape by Naruto using his Hiraishin on them all. They appeared at the checkpoint Naruto had set up which was about ten miles away.

"Thanks," Sakura said to the blond.

"No problem. Now, we need to go find the others so they don't get ideas on trying to play heroics and coming to save us."

Making a seal, twenty Kage bunshin's popped up and all took off in different directions.

"Good thinking," Sasuke managed to say.

"At least we avoided a major crisis." Sakura said as she did her best to calm the racing adrenaline in her system.

"What are you going to do about your hair, Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"Cut it, of course. It's too ruined to save." She replied, taking out a kunai.

They both watched in amazement as she unflinchingly grasped her hair back and, without emotion, cut the locks off before letting them fall to the ground.

"You have more strength and will than I do, Sakura." Sasuke said softly, with a little admiration in his voice.

"Yeah, I don't think I could do that as easily as you."

Sakura smiled wearily. "It happened once, and shorter was easier once it happened. I was just waiting for it to happen again, so it's no big deal."

"Aha. Found them. They're not gonna come for us. They're not far from here." Naruto said suddenly, his Kage bunshin having informed him.

"Good. Let's wait for Kakashi and Itachi-nii." Sasuke responded.

-------

It was an hour later that Itachi and Kakashi did come, they looked worn out.

"Crisis reverted." Itachi managed to say as he took off his Anbu mask.

Kakashi pulled his Hitai-ate over his Sharingan eye and collapsed wearily down against a tree.

Sakura immediately began to tend to them with her medic jutsu.

"Is he gone?"

"Yeah. His presence is completely gone from this area. But it isn't wise to stay here too long. He may return." Itachi informed.

"We'll be going to go join the others soon. You sure you're alright, nii-san, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked.

The two nodded.

"We'll be fine. You two need to go," Kakashi assured.

"Right!" Naruto agreed.

Nodding, Sakura finished mending them and turned to her teammates with a nod.

As one, they took off at a run off in the direction Naruto's Kage bunshin had told them they were.

--------

They made it to where the group was waiting in twenty minutes.

Ino threw her arms around Sasuke and cried, but the Uchiha merely shook her off. Hinata stuttered her happiness that Naruto was safe.

Shikamaru looked at Sasuke and said flatly. "Don't ever do that again."

They got a series of nods from the others around at his words.

Sasuke gave a small grin. "You all would have done the same, you hypocrites. Don't tell me not to do it."

"That's right! You all would have done it if it were us." Sakura agreed.

"Well, it's all over with now." Naruto assured with a wide beam. "Let's get those two scrolls and get outta this damn forest."

There was a chorus of agreement.

By late evening, they made it to their destination, with their final scrolls.

Using their two part summonings, Iruka popped up, cheerfully informing them of their time and assuring them they could rest now.

---------

Shikamaru accompanied Sasuke to his room silently.

"You worried everyone," Shikamaru informed once they were inside.

"I know."

"You worried me."

"I couldn't help that. The leading man has to make sure the rest of the team get out safely."

"Who made you the leader?"

"Well, officially? Everyone. They did the moment they all agreed with my idea and followed me."

Shikamaru snorted, but didn't argue with that.

"Stay with me tonight," Sasuke invited softly, looking off towards the far wall to the window, a small blush on his face.

"Do you really want me to?" Shikamaru asked, placing his hand on the Uchiha's arm.

Sasuke looked back, locking their eyes and gave a serious nod.

"Yes," He whispered.

Shikamaru's hand slowly trailed down Sasuke's arm before sliding off to rest lightly on the other boy's hip, pulling him just a little closer.

Sasuke's breath hitched a little, eyes widening in the slightest. He didn't realize he was leaning forward slowly, or that the other was doing likewise, all that he was seeing was Shikamaru's eyes, and how he found himself drowning in them.

There were so many thing he wanted to say to him, so many feelings he wanted to share; before he could even begin to comprehend anything, their lips met.

He gasped a little, eyes widening for a moment, before they fell half-mast. It seemed their lips still fit together this time around, he noted dazedly as he could feel himself press closer, until he realized he was completely leaning against the younger boy, kissing him completely back.

The world around them fell away and all that was left were the crumbling pieces of what sanity they had. Sasuke's arms had found their way around Shikamaru's neck while the others had wound around his waist.

The kiss didn't last too long, but when they pulled back from it, reality hit them again. Sasuke got a fine blush across his face and for once, so did Shikamaru.

"I...liked that," Sasuke mumbled shyly, looking away again, but didn't move away.

"Me, too..." The brunette admitted back with the slightest of smiles.

Sasuke brought his attention back to the other, getting a serious expression on. This was it, he had to say it. It was now or never.

"Shika, I-- I want to say I--"

Before he could get the words out, the others mouth was over his again, kissing him once more, as if to steal the words from him, leaving him to moan out a little helplessly.

"I know," Came the mumble against his lips.

"You do...?"

Sasuke's eyes met Shikamaru's again, and all he could see was returned feelings, they reflected all the things he'd wanted to say to him. Butterflies caught in his stomach and tears threatened to fall from his eyes when he realized what it meant.

He broke from the kiss and burried his face in Shikamaru's neck, a shudder running through his body.

"I do love you back, Sasuke. I have all along. I..."

Sasuke shook his head against the other, pulling his head up to place a kiss against Shikamaru's trembling lips.

"No, nothing more. This is enough."

"Sasuke..."

Sasuke shook his head, but smiled weakly.

Their lips met again, but this time it was heated, a need to express everything at once and connect on a deeper level. Sasuke moaned as he felt Shika's arms tighten around him and he arched further into him in an attempt to get closer. Shikamaru's tongue softly prodded at Sasuke's lips and without hesitation, they parted with a sigh.

Their tongues danced and stroked slowly along one another, twisting and twining like snakes in a mating dance. They kept pressing closer and harder together until they ran out of air.

Sasuke pulled away, tilting his head upwards, lungs heaving in an attempt to get enough air into his system, he was feeling lightheaded and giddy all at once. He moaned again when he felt Shikamaru's breath on his neck because the other was resting his head on his shoulder. They were both the same height so it worked out fine.

His eyes widened, a startled moan escaping as Shikamaru slowly began to trail kisses up his neck. A shudder ran down his spine, his head tilted farther back and to the side.

"Sasuke..." Shikamaru breathed against his ear, voice cracked and low.

"Shika...maru..." He whimpered back. He didn't care how he sounded. No one else was around and he wouldn't have cared if anyone was.

He wasn't how he was before, he didn't care about his visage and how people saw him. This time around he stayed true to his real self. Needless to say, his real self was uke, he just didn't want the burden of having to be the ruler of everything. Shikamaru had always seen and accepted that even he needed someone to lean on, that he wasn't some super human able to handle everything.

Though he could just as easily be seme, he didn't _want_ to be.

Although he didn't want to, he pulled away a little, trying not to feel disappointed. He took Shikamaru's hand and led him over to the bed. He took his Hitai-ate off and placed it on the nightstand. Getting the hint, Shikamaru slipped off his overshirt, folded it, and placed it on his side.

Slipping off his shirt, messing up his locks of hair in the process, the Uchiha just let it drop to the floor without caring. He kicked off his sandals next. He climbed into the bed and about died from the comfort. After today, he'd appreciate beds a lot more. He moaned in comfort.

shikamaru quietly chuckled at the others reaction before he took his sandals off before climbing in after the other boy.

Sasuke thanked whatever higher power there was for the remote controlled light switch because he was too lazy to get up again. He took it from the bedside table and clicked the light off.

"Convienent," Shikamaru mumbled against Sasuke's shoulder. He'd scooted closer until he was pressed completely against the others back, his arm wound around his waist.

Sasuke blushed a little at the closeness, but smiled. "Handy," He agreed.

"Goodnight, Sasuke."

"Oyasumi..."

Closing their eyes, it was barely a few minutes before either one of them fell asleep.

------

Sakura couldn't sleep. She was just too wired. It wasn't the first time it happened, but it wasn't a habit.

Sighing, she got up and slid out of bed, quietly going to the door and slipping out into the dim hallway.

She was surprised to see Neji standing out there in the hallway outside of his own door.

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked softly, but loud enough to alert him she was there.

His eyes opened, the Byakugan was activated.

"No, I was just checking on everyone..."

Sakura wanted to giggle, or make some comment about how he was just as soft as Sasuke when it came to the others, but she knew that would upset the Hyuuga so she didin't.

"Are they fine?"

"Apparently. The Uchiha has company for the night."

To that Sakura broke out into a grin when she noticed the slight blush at his words. "Oh? I suspected it would happen sooner or later."

"You knew?"

"More or less." Sakura replied with a wave of her hand.

The other snorted. "It...actually surprises me that he could be so..."

"Open?"

"Yes. Given his reputation."

"That's the thing, Sasuke doesn't care about his reputation. He wants to live the way he wants to live, so he doesn't let those things get to him. If he's happy, that's all I care about." Sakura slid down her door to the floor, resting her arms on her knees with a shrug.

Neji just leaned against his door with his arms crossed.

"You really don't look like you're capable of much, yet you talk so confidantly." He said, doing his best not to spark the anger of the woman. He was actually wary of another outburst from her.

Sakura didn't take it wrong, because she understood what he meant. "I know, but the guys have been pushing me hard. I trust them, so I trust that what I've learned is good enough. I've seen drastic changes compared to my old self in the academy."

It was then Neji noticed one of the differences. "Your hair..."

She brought her hand up behind her head to touch the now shortened locks.

"Yeah. It was what happened in the forest. Sasuke rammed into the guy to make sure he didn't hit me with a sword, but he caught my hair. Does it look horrible?" She teased. She knew how vain the Hyuuga was about his own hair.

"It's...accaptable. It doesn't look terrible on you. Your longer hair made your face look a little wider and your forehead look larger..."

Sakura winced a little but sighed. "I know, I have a wide forehead. I can't help that. I just hope I grow into it. Bangs don't help hide it so why bother covering it?"

"You don't care about your appearance?"

"Not anymore. I'm taking being a kunoichi seriously, I don't have time to fuss over my appearance and be vain. I want to be strong and become a great medic-nin like Tsunade-hime. I can't waste time worrying over petty things like my looks. If I'm attractive, I'm attractive naturally. If I'm not, I'm not. I can deal with that."

Neji looked surprised, but the barest twitch at the corner of his lip alerted the girl that it was as close to as smile she was going to get from him. "You're interesting."

"Am I? Good, I'm glad I don't bore you."

"Why?"

"Because I admire you."

"Tch. Why?"

"Well... You're strong, you're confidant. Maybe a little over the top, but you watch over your comrades and make sure they're alright. You're taking time to talk to me... That in itself is admirable. Most people treat me as if I'm invisible. I just... I dunno, there's just something about you that makes me admire you. Or maybe, look up to is the word I'm looking for."

Neji didn't respond to her words, perhaps he didn't know how to. Sakura could see he was searching for a response, but she didn't give him the time to reply. She stood back up, smiling over at him. "Well, I think I'm gonna try going to sleep again. Thank you for talking with me. Goodnight, Neji."

The other looked over at her, eyes searching hers seriously before he gave a nod. "Goodnight...Sakura."

She smiled at the way he hesitated to say her name, but it was a start. She gave a small wave before she turned and went back into her room and went back to bed.

Neji stood there a while longer, replaying their conversation again. There was the slightest upturn of his lips when he finally turned and went into his own room ten minutes later.

**TBC**


	12. Chapter 10

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** Oh my god, people, this is the longest chapter I've ever wrote. IT DIDN'T WANT TO END. -snorts- You all had better enjoy it or else!

* * *

Sasuke awoke the next morning by feeling something shift beside him. He tensed a little, eyes fluttering before cracking open slightly. It wasn't long before his consciousness flooded to the surface and he tensed up a little.

"Mendoukusai," Came the sleepy voice in his ear.

He shuddered.

"What time is it?" He asked sleepily, relaxing once again.

"Too early,"

"That's not the point."

"It's seven, give or take judging by the glow of the sky outside." Shikamaru mumbled again, attempting to hide his face in Sasuke's neck, pulling him closer to himself.

Sasuke groaned a little. "We should get up, then."

"Ten more minutes."

The Uchiha sighed. "Fine. But no more than that. We're supposed to be ready by eight at least because the preliminaries start at nine."

"Meh..." Was all he got in response.

He rolled his eyes before closing them again. He slipped back off into a doze from how warm and comfortable he felt with the others arm around him, pressed back against him. It was nice, he'd missed feeling like this. He'd had to learn to sleep alone again when they'd first come to the past; he'd spent three days without sleep and on the fourth day, Itachi finally knocked him out with a sleep jutsu.

So feeling another body pressed against his was a nice, familliar feeling compared to waking up alone.

The next thing he was aware of, was Shikamaru murmuring lowly in his ear that ten minutes had past.

"Alright, alright..." He grumbled, yawning as he sat up slowly.

"Smug bastard."

Shikamaru smirked.

"It's not my fault you fell back asleep."

"Yes it was, you were nice and warm. I was too relaxed."

"That's not a bad thing," Shikamaru snorted.

"You're the kind who doesn't relax often. You needed it."

Sasuke sighed heavily, shaking his head. "Not going to argue with you on this."

He shook his head, sitting up and got out of the bed. He reached down and snatched up his discarded shirt, pulling it on over his head before running his fingers through his hair in a half-assed attempt to fix the scraggled locks of hair before he pulled his sandals on.

He reached over to the nightstand and grabbed his hitai-ate, tying it around his forehead securely.

Shikamaru watched with a small frown but said nothing more on the subject. He pulled on his vest and sandals before he straightened out his clothes, taking his hair down in order to comb his own fingers through it before re-tying it back up into its usual spiky ponytail. Sasuke rubbed his eyes, staring blankly at the wall for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

"Should we go get breakfast, or do you just want to hang around here until it's time for the preliminaries?" He asked as he looked over towards the shadow nin.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Whatever you want to do. Mendoukusai..."

He rolled his eyes, giving a lazy grin of his own before he went over, grabbing the other's wrist and started to lead him to the door. "Come on, breakfast. We'll probably need all the energy we can get."

Shikamaru stopped them as they reached the door.

"What?" Sasuke asked softly, turning back to look at him with a confused expression.

Shikamaru leaned forward, letting his lips fuse against theirs. Sasuke gave a soft moan, returning the kiss.

"Will it bother you?" Shikamaru questioned.

Sasuke knew what he meant. 'will us being in public bother you' was what he meant, but apparently some of his cryptic way of speaking rubbed off on the other.

Sasuke gave another smile, looking through lidded eyes as he answered. "Not at all. I don't care how others will see it."

Shikamaru grinned in his usual lopsided way before nodding and reaching around the other to turn the knob on the door and opened it. Sasuke backed out before turning completely around, once again beginning to lead the other ninja down the hall.

Sakura was sleepily rubbing her eyes, leaning against her door when she saw them. She smiled a them, giving a small wave as she yawned.

As Sasuke expected, Naruto's room was still shut. He strained his ears and he heard soft snoring. He chuckled to himself. Neji came out of his room at the exact moment they passed. He stared at them both for a moment, before giving a small nod of his head, before turning and slowly started walking the opposite way down the hall.

"That was...interesting." Shikamaru mumbled as he fell into step beside Sasuke.

He snorted. "He knew, he has the Byakugan."

"It's still kinda creepy...knowing he could watch if he wanted."

Sasuke snorted again. "He'd probably get scarred for life. He also doesn't seem to be the perverted type."

The brunette cracked a grin at that.

-----

After going to the large cafeteria-like room that was serving breakfast for all the genin, the two filled one tray, since between the two of them, with the way they ate, they made one meal for just one person together. Sasuke was never one for a huge breakfast and Shikamaru wasn't hungry that morning.

They looked around for a table before they caught Chouji waving for them to join him and a couple of the others at the mostly-empty table. It seemed the other genin stayed clear of the 'rookie' nine and Team Gai. With good reason, Sasuke thought with a snort.

"Hey," Chouji greeted, before stuffing another boiled potato into his mouth.

Shikamaru grinned at his teammate, taking a seat. "Hey, Chouji."

Lee gaily greeted them with his usual flowery speech. while Tenten looked exasperated, giving the two apologetic looks.

Hinata, Shino, and Kiba all gave their own greeting. Sasuke nodded to each of them, giving the smallest of smiles at it before he turned his head towards the door.

"You gonna eat, Sasuke?" Chouji asked after a moment.

"Yeah... I'm just waiting for Sakura and the dobe."

"Do you three do everything together?"

Sasuke snorted. "For the most part, yes. It's become a habit."

"You three were always close," Shino pointed out.

"They're my family, blood relations or not." Sasuke replied seriously.

"T-That's so...nice, Sa-Sasuke... I'm...glad..." Hinata stuttered quietly with a shy smile.

Sasuke looked over to her and gave her a smile in return. "Thank you."

Turning back to the door, he was mildly surprised to see Sakura walking through side-by-side with Neji, and they were chatting as they got in line. Well, it was a slight one-sided chat, but Sasuke could see that Neji was actually listening to what the girl said. Next, Ino came through the door and seconds later, Naruto came barrelling through it, yelling a good morning to everyone.

Glancing around the large room once more, his eyes landed on Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro. Gaara wasn't eating and seemed to be observing everyone as well. Their eyes met. He nodded and gave a slight wave. The other didn't respond outwardly, but he saw the others eyes flash before they turned away.

"Morning!" Sakura greeted as she sat her tray down. Everyone watched in mild shock as Neji pulled her chair out, bidding her to sit before pushing her in and taking a seat beside her. Hinata looked the most surprised, before she got a soft smile on. Lee and Tenten were gaping. Lee, because he'd never thought he'd see Neji be courteous to anyone other than Hyuuga Hiashi, and Tenten because she was mildly jealous of Sakura for being able to get through to Neji a little.

Ino and Naruto came over. Naruto went over and sat in the seat Sasuke was supposed to have.

"Naruto! Have some respect for Sasuke! How dare you take his seat!" Ino cried, giving the blond a swift kick to the leg.

"Oww... You don't have to kick me! Besides, it's not as if the teme's actually sitting in it right now."

Sasuke snorted. "I wasn't going to use it, anyway. Especially not after the dobe's sat in it. My brain cells might die."

Sakura let out a quiet giggle behind her breakfast muffin, causing some of the others to chuckle as well.

"Teme," Naruto responded, sticking his tongue out.

Rolling his eyes at his companion, he sat down--directly in Shikamaru's lap.

Silence ensued.

Kiba's jaw had dropped, part of an uneaten hamburger in it. Akamaru, having been inside of the Inuzuka's coat, sniffed the air before sneekily reaching up with his neck and snatching the food right out of his master's mouth, without the other even noticing.

Everyone minus Naruto, Sakura, and Neji sported identical looks of shock.

Naruto slipped down in the chair, bursting out into laughter, while Sakura rolled her eyes and took another bite of her muffin. Neji was quick to follow Sakura's example in rolling his eyes before taking a sip of his tea he'd gotten from who knows where.

Shikamaru didn't look too effected as he reached around the Uchiha to snatch up a cherry pastry, other arm loosely draped around their waist.

"What the hell?!" Kiba finally recovered, completely forgetting he'd even had food at the moment.

Neji snorted, giving the Inuzuka a cold look. "Isn't it obvious, or are you too stupid to realize that they're together?"

"What'd you say?"

Sakura raised her hand, pacifying Kiba with a small look before looking towards Neji.

"That's enough. Neji, please be kind to the others, despite how low our intellgence is compared to yours. Kiba, you've got a brain, start using it. Not everyone's going to spell things out for you all the time."

Neji scoffed for a moment, until Sakura looked him directly in the eyes with the same look she gave Kiba. After a moment's hesitation, he nodded to her.

Kiba looked absolutely flabbergasted.

Likewise, some of the others looked surprised at Sakura's ability to stop the outbreak before it began.

And once again, Tenten was jealous, Lee was astonished, and Ino was in awe.

Sasuke smirked as he took a bite of his salad, looking delighted as he ended up with a bite of tomato from it.

Shikamaru let his forehead rest against Sasuke's back, letting his eyes close, feeling a headache coming on, even though the situation was settled before it began.

"So it is true," Shino apoke up after a moment.

"What's true?" Lee asked.

"That they're really together... My insects are picking up their chakra flucctuations towards one another. That's how we check to be sure, just in case."

"In case of what--OWW!" Lee frowned as Tenten hit him upside the head.

"It's not our business!" Tenten replied, giving her boisterous companion a look.

Sasuke looked downright affronted at the Aburame.

Shikamaru's arm tightened around him a fraction in response.

"My apologies," Shino said after a moment, having picked up on the subtle signs of anger the Uchiha was giving off.

"I didn't mean to offend you. But you must be cautious, your name can be tarnished by whomever you choose."

Sasuke snorted loudly, throwing his head back as he started to laugh.

Everyone blinked.

"Sasuke doesn't care about his name or his reputation." Naruto spoke up for his laughing companion.

Sakura nodded. "If he's happy, that's all we care about. If both of them are happy together, then I wish them the best. I will support them."

"S-so w-will I..." Hinata spoke up for the first time in a while, looking shy.

"Shikamaru's my best bud. If this is what he wants, why should it matter?" Chouji spoke around his chips, he was already on his fifth bag.

Ino looked torn. She wanted to scream at them, but at the same time... She shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts, but all it seemed to do was jumble them more. Frustrated, she pushed herself up and walked away, leaving the others to watch her go.

"Give her some time," Shikamaru mumbled.

"Yeah. She needs to sort herself out." Chouji agreed.

Sasuke silently went back to eating his salad, not really caring about the Yamanaka's departure. Shikamaru just took another bite of his pastry, too used to her random storm-outs. It really was a wonder they ever got any training done during the week...

Lee took that moment to spout off about the bloom of youth and how he would support the two. Tenten just sighed heavily at him, and once again gave them apologetic looks.

Sasuke checked the clock, sighing. "It's time."

Nodding, everyone finished their meal before they all stood and took their trays back before they headed out towards the designated area.

Sasuke sagged for a moment in midstep, rubbing his head.

"You okay?" Shikamaru asked.

the dark haired boy looked at him, giving a weak smile. "Yeah, just a little anxious."

The brunette nodded, taking his hand. "Come on, we don't want to fall behind."

Letting the other lead him, they began walking off to catch up to the others, unaware that someone was watching them the whole time.

'Interesting...'

--------

The preliminaries had begin, the rules explained, and time had seemed to slip by. It was midday and quite a few battles had already been fought. Shino had already faught some Grass nin and won, Lee won his first match as well. Other Konoha genin that they didn't know had gone, as well as some from the other villages.

"Next up is..."

The random draw board stopped.

There was heavy silence from the Rookie nine and Team Gai.

"Uzumaki, Naruto vs Temari of the sand!"

Naruto stared at the board for a moment, before giving a nod. Sakura and Sasuke both put their hands on his shoulder in a silent encouragement before he continued down to the arena.

Temari frowned at the board.

"Smoke him, Temari." Kankuro muttered.

"Don't underestimate him." Gaara advised with a glare.

"But I fear this match has already been decided..." He murmured, knowing that they knew the future and if that were so, then they were merely hiding their true talents.

Temari looked taken aback for a moment. "Hmph! I'll show this kid what it's like to go against a Sand-nin!"

With that, she took her fan out and in a display to the crowd, rode it all the way down to the arena before closing it, placing one hand on her hip as she leaned against said fan.

"The rules are: Anything goes. The match will stop when one is unable to continue or dead." They heard him say. Naruto couldn't quite remember his name off the bat. They gave a nod.

"Hajime!"

They both jumped back. Naruto took a low crouch, similar to an animal's, mimicking the fox.

Temari opened her fan. "I'll start this off! Kamatachi!"

With a powerful swing, she generated a huge gust of wind that picked up into a tornado.

Naruto nodded to himself. 'A wind element like me... Hmm... This could be tricky.'

He made a seal and five kage bunshin appeared. With a nod, they began to move.

Temari was not expecting the first swing from a clone that appeared to her side, but managed to block it with her fan at the last second. However, unlike a normal kage bunshin, it didn't disperse when she countered. "What the..."

She was forced to duck the kick aimed for her head. Calling upon the wind, she leaped high, riding the air directly into the tornado from her fan.

Up in the stands, Sasuke stood next to Kakashi and watched. "Omoshiroi."

Kakashi nodded, he too was interested in see what his student was capable of, going against someone of the same element.

Sakura stood next to Neji, they were farther down the stands, closer to the middle and were leaning against the rail.

"They have the same element," Neji observed, his Byakugan activated.

"Yes," Sakura confirmed.

"Then it will be a test of who has better control."

Sakura gazed down at the arena again, watching as two of the Naruto clones jumped straight into the tornado after Temari.

"It appears so."

"But... There's something different about those Kage bunshin. They should disperse with one hit, but they don't..."

Sakura smiled. "Naruto figured out a way to fix that flaw in the clones and now they'll only disperse with a fatal hit."

Neji stared for a long moment in surprise. Perhaps he truly had underestimated the so-called 'deadlast' of Konoha.

"There are plenty of things beyond our reckoning. Naruto has always strived against it, however. He's doing his best to make Konoha acknowledge him. And once he has, it is his dream to become the Hokage. The path will be a long and hard one, but every time I look at him... I see how far he's come already and I... I'm always filled with admiration. Even when everyone has hated him and kicked him when he was down, he still gets back up and keeps going."

Sakura looked up towards the sky, a smile on her face that seemed to make her glow with pride.

Neji saw this, blinking slowly. He had always thought Destiny was long thought out and you couldn't escape it, but hearing this, seeing it, even... Seeing the look of sister-like love Sakura had for the other, he really had to wonder and perhaps--dare he ever--hope if that was true. Because if Destiny was changeable...

"I always thought Destiny was unchangable." He finally said.

"Destiny is merely like a guideline. If you follow it along, there comes things in life that are, as we say, predetermined, but it's up to you and your choices that effect those predetermined things. Destiny rewards or punishes depending on those choices. I believe... I believe that Destiny allowed me the chance to be able to speak with you like this... And for you to listen. Because as I said, mostly everyone treats me like I'm invisible. But you've... You've listened to me and given me your full attention. I believe Destiny rewarded us with this."

"What do you mean?" Neji questioned. He'd begun to picture what she was saying, but as for why they were being rewarded, he was confused.

"Well... We may not know one another real well, but... I believe Destiny opened the path for us to be friends. Or at least comrades of some sort. The thought of that makes me happy. It just shows me that I've taken one step in my life towards the better." Sakura smiled at the Hyuuga prodigy, sensing that he was beginning to grasp her meaning. It had been what she was hoping for. She wanted Neji to see on his own that his fate was changable, without her having to forcefully knock it into him like Naruto had.

Back down in the arena...

Naruto charged chakra to his hand, breathing heavily. All five clones had been dispersed once Temari had figured out their weakness and from there, they had exchanged plenty of blows. He formed a swirling ball of air. Temari's eyes widened when she saw and felt the immense chakra going into it. She braced her body and shifted her fan just in case.

"Rasengan: Shichi no Kaze!" Naruto yelled. He slammed the Rasengan into the ground and the earth rumbled. All around, the air suddenly went still and heavy, even Temari's tornado died off.

"Wh-what..." Temari started to take a step back. She didn't like the feeling it was giving her. Before she could fully move, seven tall, but thin tornnados errupted all around her and began to move in a circle, beginning to create one huge wind-vaccuum in the air around her.

Her eyes widened. "No!" She cried. She knew she'd been had, there was no escaping from the suction, even if she tried, the tornados were in her way. And if the other wanted, they could vault themselves in from the top and finish her. She had lost. Gaara's words echoed in her mind. 'I fear this match has already been decided...'

She closed her eyes and let herself fall to the ground. 'Looks like you were right, Gaara...'

Once the winds died off, the crowd saw Temari on her knees. She slowly raised her hand. "I forfeit. Uzumaki, Naruto has outwitted me and if I continued, I would wear my chakra completely out."

There was a murmur from the crowd, but the proctor nodded. "Winner: Uzumaki, Naruto!"

Naruto went over to Temari and offered her his hand to help her up.

She looked up at him, and he smiled. It was a kind, accepting smile. One that wasn't triumphant or accusing. Once again, she saw part of her brother in him. She took his hand.

He pulled her to her feet. "That was a great fight. I'm glad I got to fight you, it helped me see how much harder it is to fight against someone of the same element."

Temari grinned weakly. "You were good, kid. That last move had me."

Naruto beamed. "It was my last resort."

The two let themselves be checked by the medic-nin before they headed back up to the stands. Naruto escorted Temari back to her siblings, nodding at Gaara and Kankuro before he headed back to where Kakashi and Sasuke were waiting to greet him.

"Good job, Naruto. I was surprised to see you use the Rasengan like that." Kakashi said, eye curving up into his wordless smile.

Naruto grinned. "I figured out how to infuse different elements into it, but I figured out I'd enhance the destructive power of wind if I channeled them into multiple forces to create one huge one."

"That, my kawaii student, is very good thinking."

Blushing a bit, Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"Temari did have you on your toes, though." Sasuke pointed out.

"She did. I was trying not to over do anything and show too much, but she really had me working to avoid alot of her wind."

He looked around, blinking. "Where's Sakura?"

Sasuke flicked his gaze down towards the rails around the middle and pointed wordlessly.

Naruto's eyes followed, before they softened as they landed on Neji and Sakura speaking, Sakura smiling brightly and Neji fully attentive and thoughtful looking.

"The next competetors shall be...."

The board began to spin for a good few minutes before it slowed to a stop.

Naruto's eyes widened, Sasuke suddenly started laughing, and around them, the rookie nine and team Gai all gasped.

The board showed Sakura and Neji.

"....." Neji's eyes were widened a little.

Sakura seemed to absorb it better. She took Neji's arm. "Think of it as one of those predestined things. Now we'll get a chance to communicate through our fighting."

Neji seemed to recover at her words and nodded, giving a small smirk. "With your confidence, it does make me want to test your skills out."

She grinned. They both vaulted over the side of the rails down into the arena. They went to opposite sides. Sakura debated to pull her gloves on, but after a moment, didn't and simply took a stance.

Neji took the typical Jyuuken style stance and they both waited for the go.

"Hajime!"

Immediately, Neji was infront of Sakura, striking at her with the speed of a lynx as he jabbed and thrust his arms toward her.

Sakura managed to successfully dodge his first volley. She backflipped away, gathering chakra to her fist. Once she did, she grinned towards him. "Gaia crusher!"

She slammed her fist straight down into the ground, her fist went right through to her mid-arm. The whole arena shook rumbled like an earthquake. And seconds later, the ground began to split and tear and large arcs and pillars of the earth shot up from the ground, creating large contrasts and shadows.

Neji avoided all of the erruptions and activated his Byakugan to find her. She was really powerful if she could split the earth like that with one hit. He had to be wary and not get hit.

"SHANNAROU!!" Sakura punched directly through one of the pillars, sending the top crumbling towards Neji. The Hyuuga, seeing this, began to spin.

"Kaiten!"

The rock shattered upon impact with the dome of chakra.

"You're powerful," Neji commented as Sakura lept down from the broken pillar.

"I told you I've worked hard. But you've hardly seen anything yet. Your Jyuuken? It's useless against me. I know how it works and I know how to counter it."

Neji scoffed. No way, that was impossible, right? No one could block the Jyuuken.

He leapt for her. "Then let's find out!" He started a second volley of thrusts and jabs at her, and each time she dodged.

In the stands, everyone was watching with baited breath, and most of the rookie nine and team Gai once again had their perceptions about the lowly, weak Sakura shattered. Who was this Kunoichi that had taken her place? When had she become so powerful? Sasuke and Naruto grinned proudly, calling cheers and encouragement out to here while Kakashi merely watched on from over the rim of his book.

Sakura jumped away from the last jab, landing gracefully a few feet away. "That it?"

"My next move will decide it all." Neji smirked.

"It's over."

Sakura only smiled. "I was waiting for this moment."

Before Neji could wonder what she meant, he activated the hakke, he dashed forward. With Sakura bound by the seal, he jabbed at all of her tenketsu points, sealing them all.

"Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou!"

Gasps came from the crowd, including Hinata and Hiashi Hyuuga.

When Neji stopped, he had a victorious smirk on his face. He knew for a fact that Sakura couldn't have escaped or dodged that in any way, his Byakugan made sure of that.

Then...

"YEAH, THAT'S IT, SAKURA!"

"Sakura, you can do it!"

"Gambatte, Sakura!"

Cheers from the crowd rose and Neji snapped around with wide eyes.

Standing there was Sakura, with a determined look to her. And with a gasp upon inspection, not a single one of her tenketsu points were closed.

"How...?"

"I told you, your Jyuuken is useless on me." She stumbled for a moment, the recoil of the Jyuuken had effected her speed for a moment, but Neji wanted to know why it hadn't worked than to finish the match.

"Your Jyuuken is a combination of chakra and physical, much like a ninjutsu, but not. It only takes a tap to cause internal damage with the Jyuuken, hence its name. You can close off the users tenketsu with but a touch. But, since I am dedicating to becoming a medic-nin, I knew about this and I know where every tenketsu point in my body is.

I trained with Sasuke and Naruto to tap me in every point. I learned to recognize where each tap came from blindfolded. There's a way to counter the Jyuuken's tap. It's simple really. At the exact moment the Jyuuken connects with that bit of chakra, you create a small 'flare' in your chakra from that tenketsu point to nullify the hit. I taught myself to automatically release a small burst of chakra whenever they tapped me."

Neji stared, with his jaw dropped.

"Your Kaiten? I've figure out how to use it as well. It's simple as well. Shall I demonstrate?"

Sakura smiled sweetly.

Neji shook the surprise from himself. "So you've also mastered the Kaiten without help... So have I. Those two techniques are Branch member abilities only. But I watched and trained by myself. I mastered them on my own. I..."

"I know about the seal, and I know the pain you've had to bare. But here and now, Destiny has give you the choice. It's in your hands, Neji."

Neji faultered for a moment, glancing up towards the stands where Hinata and Hiashi were standing, looking at him, waiting. Hinata had her hands clasped, almost in a prayer. She caught his eyes and gave him a small, shy smile.

He turned back to Sakura. She seemed to be waiting for his decision.

"I will tell you my choice....through my hands!"

With that, he lept for her, rearing his hand back and sent a punch her way.

She ducked it, but was caught unaware by the leg slamming into her abdomen. She winced but grabbed his leg and dug her heels into the ground and spun, throwing him off towards the wall with her strength.

Neji smirked as he flipped and recovered, sending chakra to his feet to stop his sliding on the ground.

He leapt for her again, pouring chakra into his legs and arms to help his speed and power as he began to attack her ernestly, swinging punches at her and delivering kicks. She was merely dodging and blocking them, retaliating when she could.

"And now!" She spoke loudly when he leapt for her once more.

She pushed herself into a spin, and a glow formed around her.

Neji's eyes widened.

Chakra suddenly exploded around her in a dome just as Neji came crashing into it.

He was sent rocketing back into the wall and slumped down, falling forward. He winced as he pulled himself up to stand.

"...The Kaiten, ladies and gentlemen." She finished as she slowed and came to a stop, toe pointed out and lowered her arms.

She was panting lightly, and Neji could see she was low in chakra. But then again, so was he. They were at an even stand still.

"Do you see now? How far I've come since my days in the academy? I'm no longer the weak, vain Sakura I was. I've worked hard, I've moulded myself into a Kunoichi! Through pain and tears, through many times I felt like giving up, I perservered. This is me, this is who I am. I am Haruno, Sakura: Kunoichi of the Leaf!"

She raised her fist to the sky and following it, cheers errupted from the crowd and calls of encouragement came from the Konoha side, the loudest being from Naruto and Sasuke.

"Yes," Neji said softly.

"You are a true Kunoichi of the Leaf... You are indeed strong and I am glad I got to see this side of you. It was indeed the work of Destiny that made this happen. But... I was rewarded with your words."

Sakura nodded, all with a kind smile. "Shall we finish this, then?"

Neji straightened himself to his full height. "There is no need, I've made my decision."

He turned and raised his hand. "I forfeit."

At that, loud cheers errupted and the proctor announced Sakura as the winner, leaving her to look stunned.

"You've shown me through your kindness that Destiny can indeed be changed, and that somethings are destined to happen. I came to the Exams fully expecting to make Chuunin, but... Now I can see that that rank is not as important as I believed. You, a mere Genin have shown me the true meaning of being a Ninja of the Leaf." Neji said, the corners of his lips rising up just a little into a small smile.

Sakura's eyes teared up for a moment but she held them back, smiling widely. "I'm honored to have faught you, and you're right, rank isn't important. It's what we do with our actions as a Shinobi, giving our all for our village, for the people, that matters. It's what we endure for the sake of our village."

The medic nins checked them over and they left the arena together.

Awaiting them at the end of the tunnel was Hinata and Hiashi.

Neji and Sakura both bowed to them.

"Neji... I am proud of you." Hiashi congratulated.

"You made a very tough decision, but I believe it was the right one."

The Hyuuga leader turned to Sakura, a light of kindness shining in his off-white eyes. "And you, young lady... You have shown light upon Neji's shades of gray. I thank you."

Sakura blushed under the praise, but bowed respectfully. "T-thank you, Hyuuga-sama."

Hinata poked her fingers together. "N-Neji-niisan... I-I... I-I... U-um... I'm...glad..."

Neji gave the heiress the smallest of smiles in return.

Hinata turned to Sakura next, giving her a smile. "Th-thank you... Sakura-chan..."

"You don't need to thank me, Hinata-chan. It was my pleasure."

Hiashi nodded. "Congratulations aside, I'm afraid I do have some problems, Haruno-san."

Sakura nodded slowly. "I expected as much. It's about my knowledge of the Jyuuken and Kaiten, right?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, we try our best not to let this knowledge leak out. Since you are not a Hyuuga member, we cannot simply let it pass. I'm sorry, but I must ask for your cooperation in placing a seal on you so that the information cannot be extracted from your mind."

Neji's eyes widened. "You're... You're going to.... To Seal her?"

Hiashi looked at him sympathetically. "I'm afraid we have to."

Sakura nodded slowly and stepped forward. "Alright. I understand that you don't want any conflict should the knowledge get out and I understand the liability I could be with the knowledge unchecked. I will let you seal me."

Hiashi nodded again. "Very well. Please, come to the Hyuuga estate for dinner at six. Afterwards, we shall begin the sealing process."

Sakura bowed formally again. "Hai, Hyuuga-sama."

Without another word, the man motioned for Hinata to follow and the two of them left.

Neji stared for a long moment before turning to her. "You'll willingly let yourself be sealed? Do you know the pain, or how branded you'll be? They'll ridicule you!"

Sakura placed her hand on Neji's arm, calming him, his voice lowering at the last bit. She smiled softly. "Yes, I will allow myself to be sealed. I do not know the pain," She lied easily, for she knew what it was like, having the Hyuuga branch seal placed on her in the past, she'd been surprised it wasn't there when her body reverted, but perhaps, thankfully it wasn't.

"Let them ridicule me, but it won't break my will. If anything, I will wear the seal with pride. Because it means the Hyuuga branch trusts me with the knowledge I contain. If I were an outsider, perhaps even a different person, I could've possibly been killed, right? It will show the world that I am affiliated to the Hyuuga clan."

Neji stared into her green eyes for a long time and all that reflected back was honesty and conviction. He had never before encountered a girl--no, she wasn't just a girl--a kunoichi with such an iron will. Or with the compassion she had. She had the will of a mother--unending patience, and neverending love. How she could turn dark into light and make a bad situation seem bareable.

She was truly a creature set apart from the rest and he was glad to have met her.

"I believe you. You are strong, and different. You will not break under pressure, but rather flex with it. I will see you tonight at dinner, then."

Sakura gave a small smile. "Yeah. Bye."

"Goodbye for now."

Neji turned and left the corridor just as Sasuke and Naruto came running down.

"That was so awesome, Sakura. You were amazing! And you... You got through to Neji in a way I couldn't. I'm so proud!" Naruto gushed, grinning brightly at her.

Sasuke smiled lightly. "You really are a Kunoichi of the Leaf. Now everyone in the Exams know it, too."

She blushed at the praises, but glowed with utter happiness.

"Hyuuga-sama invited me to dinner... And I'm going to get a seal placed on me because of my knowledge about the Jyuuken and Kaiten."

Sasuke nodded in understanding.

Naruto looked like he wanted to protest, but he also understood why. He sighed but grinned after a moment.

"Should we help you pick out a furisode?"

**TBC**


	13. Interlude 3

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** Another interlude, people. Hope you enjoy this one, too.

* * *

Sakura made her way down the street, dressed in a formal, but modest autumn-patterned furisode, with a matching oil-paper umbrella. She had her hair fancifully pinned and just the barest bit of makeup on her face, just to bring out her eyes and make her lips look fuller.

She did her best not to fidget or show any outward sign of nervousness as she made her way to the Hyuuga compound. She stopped outside of the gate and stared at the large expanse. After a long moment, Hinata appeared at the gate with a smile, wearing a formal furisode of her own.

"Welcome, Sakura-chan." She said, managing not to stutter as she opened the gate for her.

Sakura smiled and gave a polite bow. "Thank you for having me."

Hinata motioned for the girl to follow and began walking down the beautifully carved stone steps towards the large building that was semi-circled by the others that were smaller. Sakura had to fight to not chew on her bottom lip. Her fingers itched to twirl the umbrella. Once at the entry way, she closed the umbrella and Hinata kindly took it from her and set it in a special closet made for their guests belongings before showing her the way to the dining room.

The door slid open easily underneath Hinata's fingers and inside sat Hyuuga Hiashi, Neji, and one other Sakura could not place for a long moment.

"Ah, you've arrived. Welcome to the Hyuuga main house, Haruno-san." Hiashi smiled a little.

Sakura bowed deeply. "I'm honored to be here."

"This is my other daughter, Hanabi." He introduced.

Sakura finally remembered. She smiled widely, giving the girl a polite bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

The girl didn't seem real impressed by her, but returned the greeting. "Likewise, Haruno-san."

Hiashi didn't look real pleased at his daughter, but sighed. "Please forgive her rudeness, Haruno-san."

Sakura shook her head. "It's no problem."

"Please, be seated. Dinner will be arriving shortly."

Sakura nodded and slowly made her way to the small table. She carefully sat herself down on the cushon, making sure not to be impolite in any way as she did. She remembered all her ettiquete lessons from Shizune and if she remembered right, letting your furisode shift in such a way was seen as a promiscuous act.

Hinata disappeared for a moment, but returned, with a large kettle and slowly went around and poured each of them a cup of tea, before slowly pouring herself one and sat the kettle down in the middle of the table before slowly sitting herself.

"You make such fine tea, Hinata." Hiashi praised as he took a long, slow sip from the cup.

The girl blushed. "Th-thank you..."

They sipped their tea in silence. Hanabi kept shifting just a little, sending looks her way, looking as if she were wanting to say something.

"Is there something on your mind, Hanabi-san?" Sakura asked softly, giving the girl a kind smile.

The girl looked her straight in the eyes. "No. I just don't like you."

Hiashi looked visibly cowed. "Hanabi! You will not speak to our guest like that."

The girl looked defiantly back at her father. "She's not even from a distinguished clan! How can she possibly be special?"

The Hyuuga leader was about to reprimand her, but stopped when he heard Neji chuckle.

The Hyuuga prodigy placed his tea down slowly, looking over to the younger Hyuuga. "Hanabi, there are some things that we don't understand. Haruno-san has showed me this. I thought the same way as you. However... I see now that there are exceptions to everything. You can be great and not come from a distinguished clan, the difference is how hard you'll work for what you want."

The girl's lower lip trembled for a moment before she bowed her head. "Yes, Neji-niisan."

She turned to Sakura and gave a small bow. "I'm sorry, Haruno-san. Please forgive my rudeness."

Sakura shook her head, giving the girl another smile. "Don't worry, I am not angry at you. I can understand your displeasure at me for being lower..."

"Nonesense," Hiashi interrupted.

"You've definitely proven to be a capable Kunoichi despite not being from a clan. It is an honor to see such."

The girl blushed just a little but bowed in thanks.

Soon, Hyuuga branch members filed in, each carrying bowls and trays. They set them out over the middle of the table, each filled with delicious smelling and looking food. Sakura looked awed at it all.

"I told them that today was a special ocasion and that they should prepare their finest. Please, help yourself, Haruno-san."

Swallowing back a lump in her throat, Sakura nodded. Knowing their eyes were on her, she steeled her nerves and took an empty bowl and filled it moderately with a little bit of everything. Once she had, she took a pair of chopsticks and slowly snagged a piece of shrimp, bringing it up to her lips and took a bite, chewing it as daintily as she could before swallowing, letting her lips do the speaking as she smiled widely.

"It is wonderful, Hyuuga-sama."

Nodding, the rest of them got their own portions of food.

Sakura savoured the taste of it all, it was so exquisite compared to the meals she'd eat at home. The only place it tasted just as exquisite was at Sasuke's house. His mother would cook such fanciful meals as well.

"Haruno-san, I have a request I'd like to make of you." Hiashi spoke up after fifteen minutes of silence.

Sakura blinked, snapping to attentativeness, staring at the Hyuuga leader. "Yes, Hyuuga-sama?"

"Would you be willing to train with Hinata and Neji? I'm sure there's much you could teach Hinata and you would be able to keep Neji's skills sharp when I am unable to train with him."

Neji and Hinata both looked shocked.

Sakura smiled, before giving a low bow. "It would be my honor. I'm not sure how well I will be able to help, but if you think I am capable, I will do my best not to let you down."

"Very well. I know you are on a genin team as well, so after the Chuunin exams, we shall discuss the details of all of your schedules to find the best time for the three of you to train."

"Yes," Sakura agreed.

Neji still looked a little stunned by it all, but recovered and went back to eating silently. Hinata looked over towards Sakura and poked her fingers together. "U-Um... Th-thank you for agreeing to help... Sakura-chan..."

"It's no problem. I'll be looking forward to it. You'd better not hold back when we train!"

The girl snapped up straight and gave a nod. "H-hai!"

They went back to eating in comfortable silence. Sakura felt a little humbled at it all once it sank in that she wasn't dreaming, that she actually was eating dinner in the Hyuuga compound and had agreed to help train Hinata and Neji. She took a long sip of her tea, finishing it as she cleared her mind of such things.

The Hyuuga branch members came in and collected all the left over food and their bowls before leaving once more.

Hanabi asked to be excused to her room so she could continue studying and Hiashi allowed it. She got up and with a bow to everyone, silently left the room. Hiashi sighed deeply, before standing. "Let us head to the sealing room."

"Uncle, may I... May I watch?" Neji asked.

Hiashi paused. He sighed again. "If Haruno-san does not mind."

He looked over at Sakura who had slowly stood and was looking a little grim. Her eyes flickered for a moment before she steeled herself and made herself smile. "Of course, Neji-kun."

Slowly, the two followed after Hiashi down the long halls of the Hyuuga household until they reached a darker room, lit only by few candles. It held a large stone altar in the center and seals were placed around the base of it in a circle. Sakura was familiar with the place, even as she pretended to gaze in wonder.

Neji had one fist clenched silently as he looked around. This place always brought unwanted memories. Hiashi stood at the head of the small altar. "Here, Haruno-san. Please lay on the altar so I can activate the seals for the process to begin."

Sakura nodded and slowly went over. She sat upon the altar slowly before pulling herself to the middle and laid flat on her back, getting as comfortable as possible.

Hiashi began making seals, which soon became a blur to the girl as a green light of chakra enveloped around her.

Neji watched on, biting his lip silently. He knew Sakura was strong already, but he wasn't sure how she'd react to the pain of the seal.

Long moments passed as seal after seal was activated before all the seals around the altar glowed brightly. Finally, Hiashi formed a new set of seals. Sakura laid there silently, all with glossy, dazed eyes. Part of the effect from the seals was to place the person under a mild trance to help with the pain of sealing.

He finished the last seal before he placed his hand over the girl's forehead.

Immediately, her entire body tensed, her eyes widened and she took a sharp inhalation of air.

Neji tensed as well, expecting a scream, or some form of a whimper, but none came. He watched as her entire body trembled under the stress from her tensing, but she didn't utter a sound. Her fists were clenched tight and he was sure that if she'd been holding something, it would have crumbled to dust under the pressure.

Her forehead felt like it was burning, like someone was literally branding her with fire. Through the veil of haze that the seals kept her under, she could recognize the familiarity of it. She breathed heavily, her lungs feeling like they were just going to collapse in on her. She didn't cry, nor could she scream. She had promised Neji that she would bare the sealing.

Soon, the effect of the seal wore off gradually and all that was left was a dull throb.

When Hiashi removed his hand, a Branch seal glowed back at him.

He felt sympathetic for the girl, but he was glad she had understood the reasons why the seal had to be placed. He held high respect for her when she didn't even cry out. She truly was a strong young lady.

"How are you feeling, Haruno-san?" He asked softly.

She shook the dazed look from her eyes, enough to respond. "A little drained, I feel like I just got branded with a hot poker, but it's wearing off slowly... It's throbbing a little, but it's bearable."

He nodded. "Just lay there and rest for a moment. When you feel able, try to sit up."

She nodded silently, breathing still a little harsh, but it was slowly calming down.

Neji activated his Byakugan and checked her over. Nothing was out of the ordinary, her body seemed to accept the seal without much complaint, save some chakra exhautsion from it. Her chakra glowed a pale green colour, signifying her healing abilities. And he was surprised to see her own chakra reacting to the seal in an attempt to soothe the pain, it had gathered to her forehead. Was it some type of automatic regeneration she taught herself? He would ask her some other time.

His eyes went back to normal as he turned the Byakugan off. He slowly approached the altar. Sakura dazedly pushed herself to sit up, holding her head for a moment to clear the sudden vertigo. A hand steadied her shoulder. She looked up to see Neji standing there, supporting her weight with a mildly concerned look.

She gave him a weak smile. "Worst part's over."

He nodded.

She slowly slid to the edge of the altar. Neji stepped back enough to give her room. She stood up, swaying a little, but soon balanced herself again.

"Neji, please escort Haruno-san home to rest. It will take some time for the effects to wear off completely. You will be able to support her should she collapse."

Sakura looked like she was going to protest, but the Hyuuga leader smiled. "Please, Haruno-san. I insist. You've been strong, let Neji help you."

After a moment of silence, the girl nodded. Neji put his arm around her. "Lean on me, I don't want you trying to put too much energy into staying upright."

They slowly walked out of the sealing room and Neji led them to the door. Hinata appeared and gave Sakura back her umbrella and bid her good night and wished her to be well.

Neji helped her to the gate. Once there, Sakura turned to him. "It's okay, Neji. I can make it."

He shook his head stubbornly. "I know you're strong, Sakura... But please, you don't have to act strong after this. You've already shown me that you can bare the seal. The least I can do for you is take you home."

She looked like she was going to protest again, but he shook his head at her. "I won't take no for an answer."

She gave him an exasperated look, but a small smile crept up onto her face. "Okay. I guess I'll just have to suffer, then."

Smirking lightly, Neji opened the gate and took her arm gently and they began to walk down the street together.

They reached her house several minutes later. He escorted her up the steps before stopping. She turned to him with another smile. "Thank you."

"I hope you didn't 'suffer' too much with my company." He replied wryly.

She was tempted to kick him for it, but refrained and let out a snort. "Not at all."

His eyes landed on her seal again. "You won't cover it?"

"Why should I? I've nothing to be ashamed of. I will wear it with pride."

Neji slowly raised his hand to his own forehead, pushing his hitai-ate and the cloth underneath up to expose his own seal.

"I was ashamed of mine for so long... And I resented the Main branch for this hell that they could put us through with a simple seal. But... You've shown me it's something I can be proud of. If you, an outsider, can wear the seal without resentment, then maybe... I can, too."

She brought her hand up, slowly tracing the seal on his forehead and he didn't flinch. "I think... That this was another Destined thing. We were meant to share the pain together."

He pulled the cloth and Hitai-ate back over his forehead with a nod. "I think you're right."

She turned towards the door, but glanced back. "Goodnight, Neji. Thank you again."

He gave her the slightest of smiles. "Goodnight, Sakura. I will see you tomorrow."

She nodded before she opened the door to her house and stepped into it. Neji turned and walked back to the Hyuuga complex. Once he got in the door, Hinata was waiting for him with a kind smile.

"Is she okay?"

He snorted. "More than okay. She could take on the five Kage."

She nodded before tilting her head, looking at him.

"What?" He asked curiously.

"Nothing. It's just... N-Neji-niisan looks happier." She poked her fingers together, shying away a little in case he got mad.

Neji merely reguarded her before he nodded. "I guess I am, Hinata-sama. Haruno-san has shed new light on my Fate. She's special, even uncle sees it."

Hinata smiled to herself. She was happy that Neji was happy. She could see how drastically just a little bit of time with Sakura had changed him.

"I am going to retire. Goodnight, Hinata-sama."

She nodded. "O-Oyasumi, Neji-niisan."

------

Sakura flopped down into her bed. It had been a pain to explain everything to her parents, they hadn't been pleased with her making the decision on her own to be sealed. She literally had to scream it all to them to get them to understand that she could've been killed instead and that they should be thankful. After that, she'd gone to her room and locked the door.

She touched her forehead, wincing just a little as a slightly sharper sting of pain spiked through her head. It was tender. The pink haired girl looked out her window, only to see a shooting star. She smiled a little. She could remember sitting out with team seven after evening training, trying so hard to find one with Naruto and Sasuke. Now, she wouldn't foolishly waste her 'wishes' on something vain.

"I wish to be the best I can be, so that I can serve my village to the best of my abilities." She whispered, nodding to herself, satisfied that her wish wasn't too selfish. With that, she climbed off her bed, changed carefully out of the furisode, hanging it up just as carefully before taking the pins out of her hair and putting them into her jewelry box, before changing into her pajamas.

She flicked the light off and climbed into bed and closed her eyes.

In her dreams, she was Hyuuga, Sakura once more.

**TBC**


	14. Chapter 11

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** Another chapter for you fans! I also posted up a new fic called The Difference Between. Why don't you all check it out and tell me what you think of it? I'd appreciate it! That said, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

* * *

The next day there were whispers and murmurs as Sakura walked down the street. People were pointing once she had passed, there were muted words, but she ignored them all. Let them talk, she told herself. It meant nothing. She held her head up high with shoulders squared back as she made her way to the Chuunin exam stadium. She met Sasuke, Kakashi, and Naruto at the entryway with a smile.

"Now you look like the Sakura we know and love with that seal." Naruto grinned.

Sasuke snorted softly. "He's right. You didn't look like yourself without it."

She brought her hand up to the seal, smiling widly. "It doesn't mean I'm getting married, though." She replied wryly.

"What, no wedding bells?" Naruto feigned a hurt look.

Sakura lightly smacked him. "Dummy,"

Sasuke chuckled. Kakashi cleared his throat, just now turning his attention to the girl and observed her seal for a moment with a raised brow. "A branch seal? That's rather odd... They just usually place a knowledge seal on those containing information on the Hyuuga... Why a Branch seal?"

Sakura looked down thoughtfully. "Well... Hyuuga-sama asked me to help train Hinata and Neji. I think it was special treatment. Besides, with a Branch seal, any more knowledge you gain will just be sealed upon your death. A knowledge seal just seals away the knowledge you know about a certain thing, right?"

Kakashi looked all the more thoughtful "Hmm... I suppose so."

"You're gonna train with Hinata and Neji? That's so cool! You'll be able to perfect your Jyuuken again!" Naruto positively beamed at his friend.

The pink haired girl blushed shyly, looking to the ground. "Yeah... I'm excited."

Sasuke wanted to poke some fun at the girl, but he refrained. She was embarassed enough as it was.

Before anything else was said, the rest of the rookie nine and team Gai showed up.

All of them looked surprised at the seal upon the girl's forehead.

"Neji! Isn't that..." Lee started to ask.

"...The same seal you have?" Tenten finished.

Neji had his arms crossed. He glanced at the seal on the girl's head before nodding. "Yes."

"But why would Sakura-chan have a Hyuuga seal placed on her?" Ino questioned.

"Did she do something bad?"

"You know," Sakura cut in, gritting her teeth.

"It's rather rude to talk about someone when they're standing right here. If you want to know, just ASK me!"

The majority of the group looked taken aback by her anger. Shikamaru mumbled a quiet 'mendoukusai' at everything, leaning forward to rest his head on Sasuke's shoulder, since he was standing right behind him. Sasuke only snorted at the action.

"Well.... What happened?" Kiba finally dared to ask.

"Because I know the secrets of the Jyuuken and Kaiten, Hyuuga-sama placed a branch seal on me after asking me to train with Hinata-chan and Neji-kun."

Lee's eyes burst wide with sparkles raining down everywhere. "You get to train with them?! How honourable! The bloom of youth is surely with you!!"

There was a murmur of shock amongst the majority of the small group.

"No way..." Ino breathed.

"You're so lucky!"

Hinata was blushing brightly and Neji rolled his eyes.

Tenten once again was jealous of the girl, but didn't speak up.

"It's time, everyone." Sasuke interrupted before anything more was said, sparing the pink haired girl some annoyance. She gave him a thankful look.

Without further questions or outbursts, they entered the building and made their way up to the stands.

All their Jounin instructors were there. All of them seemed surprised at Sakura's Branch seal, but didn't inquire to her about it. She sighed heavily to herself inwardly, her Inner Sakura raging in indignity about the lack of respect and how she'd beat them all into the ground, which made her feel a little better.

Sakura sat with Neji and they watched several of the matches together, picking apart the genin's strategies and talking about how to nullify them.

Sasuke watched boredly, with Shikamaru's head in his lap, the other genin sprawled out on the bench, mumbling about how troublesome these fights were.

"Hey, Kakashi." Asuma murmured lowly to the other Jounin.

The silver-haired male glanced up from his book. "Mm?"

"What's with your student and the Hyuuga seal she has?"

Kurenai and Gai had closed in as well to hear the Jounin's explaination.

"Well... Apparently Hiashi-sama has seen her to be special and asked her to train with Hinata and Neji. Since knowledge about the Jyuuken and Branch moves are secret, I'd assume the seal was placed because of that." Kakashi replied airily, before going back to reading his book.

"Is she really that special?"

"I thought she was just an average girl. She didn't even score that high in the Academy..."

"Kurenai-chan! Surely you don't underestimate the bloom of youth! She must be a hard worker to achieve such praise from Hyuuga, Hiashi!"

Kakashi sighed. "Think what you will of her, but my students are definitely special in their own right."

"I'd assume so, you've got an Uchiha, the Yondaime's son, and now you've got a Hyuuga-affiliated genin." Asuma replied wryly.

"Her will was already special, the fight yesterday was spectacular! She has a natural charisma. She will make a fine medic-nin once her aspirations come to fruition." Gai praised.

Kurenai frowned a little, but she knew she couldn't put up an arguement. She turned and looked towards the pink haired girl that was currently talking to both Neji and Hinata. The shy Hyuuga heiress didn't look so shy and reserved, and didn't seem to be stuttering so much as she spoke. Neji held a more content expression rather than the carefully schooled blank expression.

In effect, they both seemed different when talking to the Haruno truly wondered what she had done to cause such a change. She had no idea that Sakura was just being Sakura. 'Maybe she has a hidden kekkei genkai...' She thought to herself, before she shook the idea away.

"And the next fight shall be..."

All of the Genin that had not participated yet glanced towards the board, as did some of the ones that already had, for they were interested in the next fight.

"Mendoukusai." Shikamaru said simply as he stared at his picture on the screen. His opponent was some Genin from Sound, their name was Tethys. Thankfully, it wasn't one of the ones Sasuke, Naruto, or Sakura encountered. Nevertheless, Sasuke placed a hand on Shikamaru's arm, gaining his attention.

"Shika, be careful. The Sound are stronger than they look. They like to use aural techniques and are shady at best. Whatever you do, don't prolong the battle, because your odds will decrease."

The other looked at him thoughtfully, meeting his eyes. He gave a nod and a slight grin. "This is such a pain in the ass. Thanks for telling me."

"You'd better win, dammit." Sasuke threatened playfully.

"Will the competetors please enter the arena?" The proctor asked.

Sasuke gave the other a push. "Go."

"Yes, mother..." Shikamaru mumbled, jumping the rail before Sasuke could smack him.

The other landed in the arena a few seconds later. It was a girl. She had long red hair to her ankles, done down in three beaded wraps and at the end of each wrap was a bell. She was scantly clad at best. She wore a short black skirt with fishnet underneath that went down her legs, and wore a black midrift top with fishnet as well. Bangles glittered her arm and she wore anklets too. Each bangle and anklet had bells on them and around her neck was a black collar with a bell as well.

She had mysterious looking green eyes, they were cloudy as if she were in a trance. She had musical note earrings dangling from her ears, and her fingernails were painted black and purple in an alternating colour pattern, In her hands she held a long purple scarf in the same colour as her nails.

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head. "Great... I have to fight a girl... Mendoukusai..."

"This match," The girl spoke softly, her voice thickly laden with mist. "I foresee it will be over in ten minutes."

Shikamaru blinked. Well, he was definitely not expecting that. "How do you know?"

"Talk means little... The music has spoken to me." She replied, a little cryptically.

"Hajime!" The proctor announced.

Shikamaru leapt back, launching a barrage of Kunai and Shuriken at the girl.

Slowly, she began to sway side to side. Once they were close to approach her, she began to rock and move, the bells on her body began to softly chime. She nimbly dodged each projectile gracefully with a series of twirls and rhythmic sways.

Tethys twirled around again, throwing the scarf up before whisping it around in a circle before opening it with both hands and shook it, all the while still moving, the bells chiming.

Out of nowhere, Kunai and Shuriken shot out from the scarf and flew directly at Shikamaru. Eyes widening, he barely had any time to react, he dove to the side just in time as they continued past and embedded into the wall behind him. She continued to sway, creating a musical rhythm with the jingles of the bells before she earnestly began to dance.

Her hips swayed, her hair moved in an elegant swirl with her and the red, purple, and black began to mix into one.

Shikamaru tried to shake the dizziness from himself, but failed. He just seemed to be getting drawn deeper into it. Sasuke's eyes had widened in recognition. 'Genjutsu...' He thought.

Before Shikamaru could react, Tethys's long hair drew up like tentacles. They reached out and grabbed him by the wrists, pulling him closer in. She had a smile on. Before he could register what was to come, his eyes widened with a gasp.

The third wrap of her hair pierced completely through him like a spear. He made a gurgling sound, blood dripping from his mouth. The bells continued to chime, but had begun to sound more like a funeral dirge than the light, jingly sound they had been.

Finally realizing that he was in a genjutsu, he brought his hands together and formed the seal. "Kai!"

The illusion wavered before disappearing around him. He collapsed to the ground to catch his breath.

Tethys didn't look too happy at her genjutsu being disrupted. She picked up the pace of her dancing, the bells now jingling at an irritating rate that had begun to give him a headache. She twirled around again, raising her scarf above her head and once again, a hail of shuriken and kunai came out of nowhere from it and he was forced to perform a rapid series of rolls in order to avoid them.

"I told you not to prolong the battle, you moron..." Sasuke mumbled to himself as he watched from above.

Naruto sat beside him, snorting. "Your advice is so underappreciated."

"Shut up, dobe."

"Whatever, teme."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "At this rate, he will lose. She's good. But if this is just her minor attacks, she must be pretty powerful when she gets serious."

Naruto frowned. "I guess we'll find out."

----

"She's a Genjutsu specialist," Neji observed, using his Byakugan.

"Her chakra network weaves in a certain way that genjutsu users do. But there's something weird about it, I can't put my finger on it. There's something off."

Sakura wished she had the Byakugan at this moment, it would have been easy to identify what it was.

Hinata activated her own Byakugan. "I-I see it, too. Her chakra's... There's a strange colouration to it. It also has a different 'feel' to it...."

Sakura blinked. "How does it feel?"

"Malicious, sinister. The colour is a sickly looking purple." Neji replied, getting a nod from Hinata to confirm his words.

Sakura recognized it at once. She was one of Orochimaru's. She wanted to go tell Sasuke, but there wasn't anything they could do, even if she did. Plus, it would worry Sasuke all the more if she told him.

She chewed her bottom lip.

"Are you alright, Sakura?" Neji askedm picking up on the disturbance in her.

"I recognize what you describe, it's the same evil energy that the guy we fought in the Forest of Death had. It was sickly feeling, not normal. Maybe she's one of his followers."

Hinata chewed her lip as well, wringing her hands. "W-will Shikamaru-kun be okay...?"

Sakura looked down into the arena, watching as the two had began attacking with ninjutsu. "I'm not sure, but I think he can hold his own. He may be lazy, but he's smart, all he has to do is figure out her weakness and he'll be able to form a strategy to beat her."

"If he can last that long, he's getting physically tired from dodging her projectiles. Those things seem to be neverending--wait... It's her scarf! The scarf is her weakness. She channels her chakra to the scarf and is able to perform her ninjutsu and use projectiles that way." Neji stated, staring at the scarf.

Chakra was readily emitting from it with each pulse and wave of ninjutsu and projectiles and all of it seemed to happen in time with her dancing.

"It's not just the scarf. It seems she has to constantly keep moving in her dance in order to channel the chakra continuously to it." Hinata observed with a nod. Sakura wrung her hands, really wishing she could see what they did, but now that they pointed it out to her, she could see it physically.

"Check the bells on her, they may be some sort of chakra amplifier." Sakura responded, standing up.

"Where are you--"

"Just do it. Please,"

Hinata nodded and looked directly at the bell around Tethys's neck. She gasped aloud when she noticed the seal on it. Sakura understood it and began to move.

"Where are you going?" Neji asked.

"To tell Sasuke. Chakra amplifiers are illegal in matches. If Sasuke can get Shikamaru to notice, then he can expose it and she'll be automatically forfeited." She responded, already making her way to Sasuke.

----

Sasuke was on the edge of his seat with anxiety watching. He had already pieced most of what Sakura, Neji, and Hinata had, and Naruto had one hand firmly on Sasuke's shoulder to keep him sitting down.

"Calm down, you getting worked up won't help anything." Naruto soothed.

Sasuke bit his lip. "I know, but..."

"Sasuke!" Sakura came running up to them.

"Sakura? What is it?"

Sakura breathed. "She's one of Orochimaru's. And... She's using Chakra amplifiers. Sasuke, you have to get Shikamaru's attention turned towards it. If he can even get one of them off, he can expose her and she'll be automatically forfeit."

Sasuke's eyes widened. Naruto's jaw dropped. "That despicable, low down bi--"

Sasuke got up and ran down to the rails.

"Shikamaru!" He called loudly.

Shikamaru's attention was diverted from her to Sasuke's voice. He was barely able to dodge her next flurry of projectiles in time.

"She's cheating!" Was all Sasuke could say. He wasn't allowed to interfere with the match.

His eyes widening, he wondered how the hell she could be cheating. He already figured out her scarf was enhanced with chakra and that she had to constantly keep moving, so how was she cheating?

Tingle. Tingle. Tingle.

The bells chimed again and he dove to the ground once more. "Oof!" He grunted painfully as he pulled one of the kunai's out of his leg. One just managed to hit him.

Wait... It had happened the exact moment the bells went off. Was that it?

He had to find an opportunity to use his Kagemane to find out.

He ducked and rolled back into the shadows. She, thankfully, hadn't moved much from the wall. The shadowing provided some shelter from her projectiles and strengthed the reach and power of his shadow.

He waited for a moment when she was open and vulnerable. When she hurled a volley of projectiles at him, he dashed to a different part without being seen and knelt, quickly forming the seal. Out of the shadow came shadows from three sides, and attached to her. "Kagemane success."

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now, let's see..." Shikamaru moved his hand up, Tethys's hand unwillingly moving as well. he ripped the bell off of her collar this way and turned it around for all to see. In a glowing red, was a seal. The proctor caught sight of it.

"Chakra amplifiers are illegal in the Chuunin exams! By default, the winner is Nara, Shikamaru."

"NO!" The girl screeched. A sinister purple glow surrounded her. She broke free of Shikamaru's shadows with a loud scream.

"I will kill you!"

Tethys charged for the shadows, her hair splayed out, the bells on her sounding like a deep 'boom' now.

Shikamaru was too dazed from his shadow being shattered to react.

Sasuke took the moment to shove off of the railing and slammed into the girl, preventing her from reaching Shikamaru.

In that moment, several Anbu appeared and apprehended her before she could recover.

Sasuke turned and went over to Shikamaru, helping him stand.

"Thanks for the tip..." Shikamaru wheezed.

Sasuke snorted. "I told you not to drag the battle out."

"I couldn't lay a hit on her, as you noticed."

Shikamaru slumped against the Uchiha. Sasuke merely sighed and helped him out from the shadows and the medic-nins checked him over and healed the mark from the kunai before Sasuke escorted him back to the stands and sat with him once again.

The battles progressed throughout the day, Ino faced a Grass nin and lost, Chouji won his battle against a Rock nin barely. Kiba lost to a Sand nin, and poor Hinata was put against another Sound nin. She, thankfully, through sheer luck, managed to win. She collapsed into tears against Sakura afterwards from fright and anxiety.

Finally, the next match was announced.

Sasuke stared at the board in disbelief.

Likewise, Tenten did as well.

They both looked at one another. Tenten swallowed a little, wanting for a moment to forfeit, but at the same time, wanted approval of her teammates and wanted to prove that she, too, was a Kunoichi of the Leaf like Sakura had. She slowly stood and hesitantly made for the arena.

Shikamaru mumbled a quiet troublesome against Sasuke before he moved and allowed the other to stand.

Sasuke sighed, but retied his hitai-ate on securely before going down to the arena.

"Tenten," He spoke softly once they were there.

"Yes?"

"Don't hold back. Give me everything you have. Give it your all, and don't hold any regret. That's what will make you a Kunoichi of the Leaf."

The girl looked stunned for a moment, before she nodded. "Got it."

Sasuke dropped into his typical stance and Tenten brandished her collapsable bostaff/nunchaku.

"Begin!"

Sasuke lept forward, a kunai in each hand as he slashed and stabbed at her in a flurry of swift moves.

Tenten deflected each hit by rapidly spinning the staff around in her fingers. She took a jab for his middle section, but he twisted away at the last second, swinging his leg around in an axe-kick, straight for her head. The other brought their staff up and blocked the kick.

With a mild grunt, she pushed all of her weight onto the staff to send the Uchiha stumbling back and she took the opportunity to begin a barrage of jabs and thrusts with the end of her staff, aiming for all the vital points on his upper body.

Despite being knocked off balance, Sasuke still managed to avoid being hit even as he felt himself falling backwards. Tenten took the opening to swing her staff down, going in for the kill. Bringing one hand back, Sasuke arched his back, flipping up onto the hand, swinging his body around to aim a kick at her which connected to her side and sent her staggering off to the right. Using that time, he recovered, flipping himself back upright.

His hands became a blur of seals.

"Katon: Goukkyaku no jutsu!"

Taking a deep breath, he exhaled, and a large stream of fire shot out in a huge ball towards Tenten.

She stabbed her bostaff into the ground, before she swung herself up it.

"Heaven's Divine Sky!" She cried she vaulted herself up over the giant flame, and threw a barrage of kunai and shuriken at the Uchiha prodigy.

Sasuke saw it coming. Channeling chakra to his eyes, he carefully manipulated the lenses in his eyes to be able to adjust more rapidly like the Sharingan as he watched them come closer. It was hard not to just let his Kekkei Genkai activate, but he had to keep playing along with the ploy that his eyes hadn't developed. Instead, he worked around with a handicap that was the next best thing.

He dodged and deflected all the weapons that were hurled at him with ease thanks to the now-rapid movements of his lenses. Tenten landed, twisting her bostaff so it collapsed back into a long-bodied Nunchaku. She whipped it around, before taking another stance. Without warning, she rushed at him, sending the weapon flailing for him.

Sasuke saw it coming and ducked. He immediately had to twist to the left to avoid the way it flailed back towards him. He grabbed it, and yanked, pulling the girl off balance. With another yank, it was wrenched from her hands. He twisted it, it snapping back to a bostaff easily. He twirled it between his fingers before he took a stance. He had, during his years in his prior lifetime, trained with other weapons. The staff being one of them.

Tenten took the moment to leap back. She reached down and pulled her Kai from its pouch on her leg, the long chain clanking as she gripped the chain with one hand, the other carefully swinging the weapon around. Sasuke made the first move as he leapt for her, striking with precise strikes, aimed to disable her arms. It was difficult, considering the nature of her weapon, but she managed to block each jab with a swing of her Kai.

Sasuke lept back, breaking the offensive as he took another stance, giving the weapon mistress a small grin. "Impressive, Tenten."

She gave him a grin in return. "Thanks, you're not bad, either."

Taking the girl off guard, he stabbed the pole into the ground before he all but shimmied up it in a twist, using his arms to push himself into a flip. "Rising Phoenix!"

He yanked the pole out of the ground as he flipped and brought it down in an arc as if he was swinging a sword, aiming straight for her. Her eyes widened. How did he know that style, she wondered. She swung her Kai hard, wrapping the chain around the bostaff and yanked as hard as she could, successfully diverting the attack and Sasuke missed her and instead hit the ground next to her.

He yanked the weapon back, untangling the Kai from it. He began another attack, similar to the Rising Phoenix, but at the last second, as she braced to swing her Kai again, instead of flipping, he swung his body down around the pole and used the momentum to go into a powerslide along the ground. "Rising Phoenix: Fall!"

His foot connected to her leg and sent her off balance as there was a small popping sound of her leg being hyperextended. Not wasting time, he braced one arm under himself and kicked off to swing his body around, swiping the bostaff around in an arc along the ground, sweeping the girl clean off her feet. "Rising Phoenix: Sweep!"

He made it to his feet, pole pointed out towards her form, readying to strike the final blow in the combination. "Rising Phoenix: Crush!"

Tenten rolled out of the way of the strike that was aimed for her ribs. She got to her feet, ignoring the pain in her one leg. "Not over! Now, here comes my ultimate!"

She jumped high into the air, pulling two large scrolls out. She unraveled them and they spun around her. "Twin Rising Dragons!"

Biting her thumb, she spread her blood along the scroll and in what looked like a whirlwind, tons of projectile and other types of weapons came raining down, she had chakra-strings and ninja wire connected to all at once as she directed their attack straight for the Uchiha.

His eyes widened as he began to once again channel chakra to his eyes to make the lenses focus repetitively. He looked like a dancer with the way he began to move around the arena, spinning the staff and effectively blocking volley after volley of Tenten's weapons.

When she swung her arms, all the weapons arced from their deflection and began to come at him once more.

Sasuke channeled chakra into the weapon. When the weapons closed around him on all sides, he began to spin the weapon quickly, it becoming a blur. One by one, in every direction, the chakra strings and ninja wire snapping and severing Tenten's control over them. Once the proverbial dust settled, weapons were scattered across the arena floor.

They both were breathing heavily by this time.

"I didn't think..." Tenten started.

"That you would be able to deflect them all... Especially without the Sharingan."

Sasuke snorted. "I don't have to rely on a Kekkei Genkai to become a good ninja. That's what makes me special. I refuse to resort to the easy path out of things. Now, I'll finish this match."

He took another stance. Tenten took another stance, biting her lip. Her reactions were slowing, she wasn't sure if she could defend against any more quick-succession combinations from the Uchiha.

Sasuke exhaled slowly before he channeled all hisn chakra to his legs and arms. He dashed forward in a swiftness that was as fast as Rock Lee, before he began to jab with the bostaff. She managed to block the first five hits, but he managed to get one to connect to her abdomen, and after that, it went downhill for her.

He struck her chest, ribs on either side, both shoulders, before rearing back and performed another Rising Phoenix: Sweep, knocking her to the ground once more. When her back hit the ground, she spat out a mouthful of blood from the internal damage she recieved from the blows. Sasuke stood over her, holding the staff directly over her chest, and she could see the chakra strings lining it, his other hand in a seal and he seemed to be holding his breath.

It was then that she realized that he had a Katon jutsu ready, and the strings would direct the fire directly to the tip and all he had to do was jab her with it to end everything.

She closed her eyes and exhaled a shaky breath, letting herself go limp in defeat.

"Winner: Uchiha, Sasuke!"

Cheers rose from the crowd, especially from the Konoha side at how the number one rookie of the year beat a senior genin.

Sasuke released the jutsu and the strings, pulling the staff back, before leaning forward and reaching his hand out to her.

She looked at him with wide-eyes, before she shakily reached up and took his hand and he slowly pulled her to her feet, so as not to agitate the blows he gave her.

"I didn't think you were well versed in the Phoenix style, Sasuke-kun..." She said after a moment.

Sasuke gave a slight smirk. "There's a lot about me people don't know. I've trained with many weapons, but I prefer the katana myself. I just used what I was given for the fight... But you know, your Twin Rising Dragons... If you train harder in using chakra strings, you can make it almost impossible to sever the link. I had a hard time breaking them. It is a good offensive and defensive manouver."

She blushed the slightest at his words, but nodded, a little shyly. "It was an honor to fight you. And...you're right. You don't need the Sharingan to be a good ninja. I just assumed you would use it. Neji's always throwing his around."

Sasuke snorted. "I'm not as arrogant as that Hyuuga. Besides... My Sharingan hasn't awakened yet."

She looked a little shocked. "Really?"

"Yeah... It takes a near-death experience or anger, or a lot of training with your eyes to get it to activate. I've not been that interested in developing it. What's the point in a Kekkei Genkai that can copy jutsus? I would rather learn them on my own."

The medic-nins had come over and they healed Tenten up. They also healed the scratches. and nicks that Sasuke had recieved from deflecting Tenten's barrage of weapons.

He held his hand out to her in offering. "I would like to fight you again once we've both trained hard and improved."

She looked surprised again, her brows having risen. But after another moment she took his hand and gave a smile. "Sure! I'd like that."

They shook before they each turned and exited the arena through seperate doorways.

Shikamaru was leaning against the wall in the hallway and gave the Uchiha a lazy look. "You show off."

Sasuke snorted lightly, going over and leaning against the other tiredly. "Not really."

Shikamaru put his arms around him and they just stood there like that, at least until they heard Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi's approach.

Sasuke reluctantly pulled away, though he didn't want to leave the warmth of the other, he knew he'd be mauled one way or another.

And true to it, Naruto mauled him with a huge glomp, followed by Sakura latching on as well. "That was awesome, Sasuke!"

Kakashi gave his one-eyed smile. "You did well."

"I didn't know you could use the bostaff, Sasuke!" Sakura gushed.

"I trained with other weapons than just the katana," Sasuke mumbled with a roll of his eyes.

"I just prefer swords the best. I'm adequate using a bostaff, zanbatou, scythe, sai's, and a flail."

"As I said. Show off." Shikamaru mumbled lazily.

Naruto laughed. "He is,"

"Definitely." Sakura agreed.

"Hm," Kakashi hummed.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Don't everyone take my side now. Geez."

"Well, since all of my team has passed the preliminaries, why don't we go out and celebrate? It's on me."

"Yatta!" Naruto cheered.

Sakura smiled. "Not Ichiraku's though, Naruto."

"Aww... Okay."

Sasuke glanced at Shikamaru who only gave a shrug in return. He nodded. "Let's go to that steamed grill, I hear their barbequed chicken is good."

Kakashi considered that for a moment before he smiled again. "Sure. Come on."

Sasuke gave a small wave to Shikamaru who only raised his hand in response before turning his head to watch the next match.

The four of them went out to said grill and they definitely weren't disappointed. Yakitori, steamed or grilled veggies, barbequed pork, chicken, and beef to their hearts content called to them.

"Sooo good!" Sakura moaned.

Naruto nodded. "I think this had become my second favorite place."

Sasuke snorted as he ate a bite of tomato that he had plucked off from his kabob.

Kakashi watched them all with a smile. Despite knowing that they were really older mentally, he couldn't help but still see the adolecence in them. And while the meal cleaned out his entire paycheck, he didn't mind so much, because he felt so much more connected to his students, and the three of them had realized it, too. He wasn't as aloof and distant as before.

"Ne, ne, sensei, aren't you gonna eat?" Naruto asked.

"Well..."

"It's not as if you're hiding anything with that mask. We've already seen your face in the other timeline." Sakura replied, smiling before she took another bite of her yakitori.

Sasuke nodded. "We also know the reasons why you hide your face, but we won't ridicule you for it."

They were already sitting in a pretty dark corner of the small restraunt and not many people were inside of it. So, with a small sigh of defeat, Kakashi slowly brought his hand up and lowered his mask.

It made all three of his students smile, seeing that he really did trust them as much as they did him.

Naruto offered out a stick of barbequed pork, to which Kakashi took and began to nibble on as well.

Satisfied, they turned back to their own meals.

-----

Mikoto scooped all three of them up in a hug once they made it to the Uchiha district, she had met them at the gates.

"I'm so proud of you all!" She gushed, beaming widely.

"Thanks, kaasan." Sasuke mumbled, smiling faintly.

"Yeah!" Naruto beamed for all he was worth.

"Thank you, Uchiha-san." Sakura responded with her own smile.

"Congratulations, otouto, Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan." Itachi spoke as he had silently slid up behind his mother.

"Thanks!" Naruto and Sakura chorused.

Sasuke felt the pride in his heart blossom even further at his brother's praise. This was what he had always wanted and he was so thankful to Naruto now for giving him this second chance. He lit up with a radiant smile that he hadn't shown in so long.

"Come inside, I've made you all some treats!" Mikoto announced, beginning to urge and usher the three inside.

It was with happiness on all three's parts that they followed after the two older Uchiha inside the estate.

**TBC**


	15. Chapter 12

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** I'm sorry, this chapter is going to be short. It's sort of a filler, but it needed to be explained a little. In several reviews, I've been asked who I'm going to pair Naruto with. The answer is this: You'll need to wait and see. I know, it's not what you want to hear, but the time and place will come. Besides, I've already sprinkled hints here and there throughout the chapters if you bother to look deep enough, lol. But other than that, the suspense is on for it! I hope you all enjoy this chapter even though it's short.

* * *

During the next couple of days that the preliminaries were going on, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto trained rigorously. They had to be in tip-top shape and ready for the upcoming breakout that was going to happen. Plus it didn't hurt to be ready for their fight in the finals, either.

Naruto trained with both Kakashi and Jiraiya and they both surprised him when they tag-teamed against him.

He came out of the fight beaming like he'd won a million bucks, even though he did end up losing. It just went to show he did have a lot more to learn, despite all the knowledge he already had.

Sakura had already begun to train and help teach Hinata to have more confidance in her fighting, while Neji stood off to the side and observed, pointing out mistakes on eithers part as a way of helping them both learn. Hinata was already beginning to show some improvement after the fourth day, having dropped into a more confidant stance upon their meeting up that day.

Sasuke trained on his own for the most part save for when Itachi could spare the time to train with him. His mother had been a Shinobi, and a powerful one at that, and she did her best to help his training as well. He had already proven himself quite capable against her when they sparred.

On the second day, Sasuke had worked up enough courage to tell his mother that he had a boyfriend. He was surprised it was met with well-wishes, for he had always somewhat been afraid of her disapproval. She had inquired who it was and when he answered, she actually started laughing.

"You sure know how to pick them, Sasu-chan." She told him as she looked out the window of the house to see Naruto and Sakura coming up the path to the door.

So what if he had odd tastes, he wondered. At least he was never bored.

------

Naruto was in heaven. Kakashi was carrying him across the training field from where he'd made him run six-hundred laps around. It felt so good just to let his muscles relax afterwards, feeling his legs dangle loosely and his head pillowed on the jounin's shoulder. He was nearly asleep when Kakashi abruptly dropped him.

He let out a loud yelp before he pouted madly, glaring up at the man. "Dammit, sensei! I was actually nice and comfortable." He whined.

Kakashi chuckled quietly. "Gomen, Naruto. But you're rather heavy."

Naruto automatically went to make a come back, but at the last second, stopped in mid-opening of his mouth. He closed it and thought for a long moment, making the silver haired man raise a brow.

"Hmm... I don't see how I'm heavy, sensei. I mean, I know I'm awesome and super strong, and my muscle mass is fairly high, but I know my metabolism takes care of all the ramen I eat..." He began slyly, grinning widely.

At once, the jounin facefaulted at the typical Naruto-like response before he started chuckling.

Sitting under a tree, Sasuke snorted, Shikamaru was there with him, staring up at the clouds.

"Maa... You're always showing off, aren't you, Naruto? It's troublesome." The lazy ninja mumbled.

Sakura came over with a scroll in her hands. She unsealed it and unwrapped the large picnic blanket before setting out sandwiches and cookies and pitchers of lemonade. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing, really." Sasuke replied.

Naruto looked put out and pouted again. "No fairrrr."

Sakura grinned a little. "Oh, hush. Eat, and you'll feel better."

Not needing to be told twice, the blond began digging in.

Sasuke got both him and Shikamaru a sandwich and a glass of lemonade, since it looked like the other wasn't going to be moving for a while. He snorted to himself. He supposed he really _did_ know how to pick them...

Surprisingly, several minutes later, Gaara and his siblings showed up. Temari was looking smug and Kankuro was the worst for wear.

Naruto waved and beamed, motioning for them to join in.

Sakura immediately checked Kankuro over, though the middle sibling protested that he'd already been healed up by the medic-nins at the exams.

"It never hurts to double-check." Sakura replied before going back to her own spot and went back to eating.

"Hmph..." Kankuro mumbled.

"Be thankful she's even willing to look your sorry self over." Temari mocked.

"Shut up!"

"Make me,"

"Shut up, fools. You're giving me a headache." Gaara snapped agitatedly.

'Looks like someone woke up without their cuddle-buddy.' Sasuke thought amusedly. He didn't voice his thought aloud, though. He didn't have a death wish.

Immediately, the two sibling's mouths snapped shut before they could continue with their arguement.

Sakura cleared her throat and diverted all of their attention towards her. She smiled kindly and held up the plate of sandwiches in one hand and the cookies in the other. "Cookies? Sandwiches? They're freshly made."

Temari nodded and took a seat beside the girl, taking a sandwich and a cookie from her with a thanks. Kankuro grumbled lightly under his breath, but at the glare Temari gave him, he managed out a 'thanks' as he took a cookie for himself.

Gaara shook his head when Sakura offered some to him, but did pour himself some lemonade and sat down beside Naruto who grinned brightly at him in return.

"Did you win or lose in your match, Kankuro?" Naruto asked after swallowing a mouthful of sandwich.

"Hmph! You think I'd lose to a push over?" The other replied cockily.

Temari rolled her eyes. "You barely won, you idiot, don't act as if you dropped them in three seconds."

Naruto started laughing merrily. "I bet it must've been awesome. Sorry we couldn't be there. We're on a tight schedule training for the finals..."

Naruto was met with a tense nod from Gaara and a shrug from Temari. Gaara had already spoken...well, half-way threatened his siblings about the upcoming events of the attack and they were going to follow him. They were also made vaguely aware that Naruto and them knew, but they didn't know how they knew.

--------

"Otouto, tell me something." Itachi asked as he slowly entered Sasuke's room to see him sitting on his bed, brush in hand, and was drawing symbols and runic-like seals across his wall. Itachi stared with fascination. This was a complex series of symbols and seals, even with all his advanced knowledge, he had trouble comprehending the nature of what his brother was doing.

"What is it, Ita-nii?" Sasuke responded slowly, crease coming to his brow as he attempted to form coherent sentences as he worked. He eventually reached his limit of reach and was forced to stand up on his knees carefully so as not to disturb the ink on the wall before he began once again, each stroke glowing a pale blue before settling as he worked.

"I wanted to discuss with you about Madara..." The older Uchiha replied, in a softer tone, eyes continuing to watch his brother work.

"Aa. Give me a moment, I'm almost finished."

Itachi waited patiently, admiring the intricate way the seals laced together in their serpent-like way of rammentai. He didn't fully understand what it all ment, but bits and pieces of it. It was a ward of some kind, a sound amplifier, and a chakra enhancer of some kind.

Sasuke slowly finished the last stroke of the last seal. With a satisfied nod to himself he put the brush between his lips before he made a series of seals. The symbols once again glowed, but this time it was a gentle violet colour before they once more went silent.

Taking the brush from his mouth, he set it carefully aside before he turned and sat at the edge of the bed, adopting a more casual expression. "What is it you wanted to know about Madara?"

"How do you plan to get past his defensive capabilities? You must know he can convert space-time to his liking to let things pass through him."

"Last time I got lucky and was able to strike when he unexpected it. This time... This time I'm going to have to come up with a better plan. I've already got an outline as to how, but I've yet to test it." Sasuke replied, crossing his arms as he looked towards the ceiling.

"What are you planning?" Itachi responded.

"It's dangerous, but... I've been working with Naruto on creating a counter to his space-time manipulation."

Itachi's brow rose, but motioned for his brother to continue.

"Naruto's Hiraishin uses space-time as well to warp from one place to another so long as there's a seal. We've been working on him trying to use it without the seals."

"!!" Itachi's eyes widened.

"That's dangerous to Naruto's body, Sasuke, you must know this!"

"I know," The younger brother replied.

"We've spoken to Kurama about this. He says his chakra that still remains inside of Naruto prevents the effects of the space-time pull to be negated since Kurama himself can warp without seals. In effect, the space-time sees Naruto's body as a demon's or a jinchuuriki still even though they're seperated and the laws of space-time allow him to pass through without much trouble."

Itachi looked thoughtful at the explaination. "Hmm... And what are you going to do once you've accomplished this?"

"The next step is to try and replicate Madara's ability to manipulate space-time to allow objects pass through him If we can do this, then we're going to analyze the process and I'm going to create a counter jutsu to disrupt his space-time manipulation. If I can succeed in doing that, then the next step comes...."

Sasuke let out a deep sigh at this as his expression darkened and Itachi blinked slowly, attempting to comprehend the sudden change in his brother's demeanor.

"And that is?"

"I need Shikamaru. I can't activate the jutsu and use the kagemane at the same time. I would have asked you to immobilize him with the Tsukuyomi, but that carries the risk of him breaking it and shattering your psyche and or posessing your body. If Shikamaru can use the kagemane at the right moment and hold him, I can deactivate the jutsu and kill him with a Chidori. But..."

"You're worried about Shikamaru-kun."

"Yes... There's a possibility Madara could trap him in the Tsukuyomi or he could break through the kagemane. I need him to be able to hold him still for approximately two minutes so I can charge the Chidori to full power. If not, everything goes to shit."

"You have the Eternal Mangekyou as well, do you not?" Itachi asked.

"Yes...why?"

"There is a ritual I read from one of father's scrolls... That if an Uchiha's lifemate is not of Uchiha blood, we either transplant their eyes... Or we do a blood ritual that makes them immune to the Sharingan effects according to the user's power and renders genjutsu of that strength and below useless against them. Since Madara and you both have the eternal mangekyou, that is the highest you can have, you can make him immune to its effects."

Sasuke's eyes widened in the realization. "That's... That's almost too good to be true, aniki."

"I have the scroll if you wish to view it." The older Uchiha responded.

Without hesitation, the younger nodded his head fervently. "Please,"

Wordlessly, Itachi turned and left. A few minutes later he returned carrying a scroll. He handed it to his brother.

Sasuke smiled. "Thank you, Ita-nii."

"Anything for you, otouto."

Sasuke eagerly unrolled the scroll and bit his finger and smeared the blood along the blank page before the scroll filled up with words and he began to read it over carefully.

Itachi watched for a long moment before he turned and exited the room.

----------

Sakura watched as Naruto concentrated, every few moments, his body would flicker and she could vaguely see through him at that moment. Kurama was sitting next to her, observing as well.

"Goddammit, this is so frustrating!" Naruto cursed as he flopped down onto the grass and took a deep breath to calm himself.

"You need to believe that the universe and time itself is yours, brat. Bend it to your will, and you could pretty much warp to anywhere." Kurama replied, flicking his long mane of hair back over his shoulder.

"You did it once when you reverted time, just think of that and how you felt and believed and try it again."

Naruto frowned before he gave a small nod. He closed his eyes and began to meditate. He thought back to how he felt when they were dying. He wasn't afraid, panicked, or angry. He was calm, he was absolutely positive he was going to save them, he knew he would save them even at the cost of his own soul...

Slowly, he stood up. "I'm going to try again."

"Gambatte, Naruto!" Sakura encouraged and Kurama only gave a light nod.

Taking another deep breath, Naruto focused. His breathing went even, and a small red aura formed around him. His eyes took in a small space not too far away and with all of his will, gave his body over to space-time.

Sakura's eyes widened as this time, Naruto's body went completely lucid and nearly invisible. After another second, a red flash happened and he was gone.

"Naruto?!" She cried out.

Kurama started howling with laughter. "He overshot the boundaries."

---------

The Sandaime was working on paperwork, every once in a while taking a puff from his pipe. Such was life when you were Hokage. You always had endless amounts of paperwork and not enough time for anything else. He was startled out of his rutine when there was a loud BANG and a red flash and out of the blue Naruto appeared, sitting on his desk, completely smashing down the pile of paperwork that was sitting there, as well as getting ink all over the seat of his pants.

"Naruto! What sort of prank is this now!"

Naruto's eyes widened and he blinked rapidly. "Old man?"

He looked around, finally realizing he was in the hokage's office. "I did it!"

He hopped off the desk, completely ignoring the old man's stupor and jumped up and down. "I did it, I did it!"

"Naruto! Would you answer me!" The Sandaime ordered.

Naruto grinned like he won a million bucks. "Sure! I was trying to improve the use of my Hiraishin by using space-time without the need of seals. Looks like I over-did it because I was supposed to only move a few feet. But at least it shows I _can_ do it!"

The old man nearly choked on his inhalation of smoke from his pipe. "You were doing WHAT?!"

"Well, teme and I were in a bet to see if I could use the Hiraishin without the need for seals and Kurama said I could because space-time still sees me as a Jinchuuriki and since Kurama can use space-time, I can use it, too. So I was trying to use it and I, uh, accidentally went too far and landed here instead of in the training field. But at least I won the bet!" Naruto grinned.

He was lying about the bet part, but he couldn't fully tell the Sandaime the details yet, it was too early and it could upset the delicate balance they were going for. They didn't want to alter time too much and make things incredibly unstable.

The old man sighed. "Very well, then. I guess if you at least know the consequences of meddling with time, you can do this. Just try not to end up in here again."

Naruto saluted. "Yes sir!"

With another grin, the blonde waved and closed his eyes, focusing on the training field by Sakura and Kurama. In another instant, there was a red flash and he was gone, leaving the Sandaime to sigh and shake his head before giving a small chuckle.

"That boy... Minato, I know you'd be proud of him." He mumbled aloud before he looked at his now-ruined paper work. Oh, well. At least that was one thing he didn't need to worry about.

**TBC**


	16. Interlude 4

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** Another short chapter, but these are necessary for the storyline so people don't get confused when certain things pop up. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this interlude as well. I've been really out of it lately so that's another reason my chapters are short again. Once I get back into the groove, things should pick up again. Onwards!

* * *

Naruto growled lowly as he half-carried, half-dragged behind him a tied up, struggling and squirming Jiraiya.

"Brat, you'll pay for this once I get loose!" The older man threatened.

Naruto made a snoring sound. "Yeah, yeah. We've got a damn mission and you're supposed to be helping me, not goofing off by looking at the women!"

"I have research to do!"

"You can do it AFTER the mission!"

Naruto promptly dropped the lump of shinobi that was Jiraiya down in the middle of the street of Tanzaku Town, getting many strange looks from various people.

He merely grinned and waved at them. They slowly went back to their business and Naruto untied the other male. Jiraiya brushed himself off indignantly, glaring at the boy.

"Oh get over yourself, ero-sennin, we've got to find Tsunade."

"Why couldn't you do it? You know her!"

"She doesn't know me, though. And what if she doesn't believe me?"

"..." The other man scowled but sighed.

"I see your point. Fine, let's get this over with."

Naruto beamed and nodded. "To the bar and casino!"

While technically underage, given the fact he was a Shinobi, (even if he was a genin,) he was allowed inside bars and casinos so long as he wore his hitai-ate to signify said status. Not that he planned on doing any drinking and gambling. Now was not a time for such matters, as fun as it would be to drink Tsunade under the table... Well, maybe he COULD... He was immune to the alcohol, anyway.

He grinned insanely, which went unnoticed by the toad sage.

Naruto led the way and strode into the bar with a broad grin. Letting his eyes scan the place, he wasn't surprised to find Tsunade over at the dice table, a drink in hand with Shizune standing off to the side looking concerned and worrying on her lip.

Confidantly, he strode over to the place and took out a couple of bills. He stepped up beside her and tossed the money at the man standing there. "Double or nothing, pops."

The man frowned at him, but didn't say anything since he was a shinobi and it was allowed. Tsunade turned her head and rose a brow at him. "You're just a kid, what do you know about gambling?"

Naruto grinned cheekily at her. "Back alley gambling teaches you quite a few things, sister. Now watch."

He took the dice, shook them and with a careful throw, watched at the dice spun and tumbled.

On the first throw he got four threes. He took the last dice and threw it. He wasn't sure if it was fate, luck, or not, but the dice landed on a four.

"Hm, not bad, kid. What's your name?" The woman asked.

Jiraiya was standing off by the bar, watching their interaction. He was highly surprised that Naruto was gambling, he didn't even think the kid new how. He was still a little skeptical about believing that he and the other two kids were from the future.

"Uzumaki-Namikaze, Naruto!" Naruto declared proudly.

Tsunade nearly choked on her tongue. "N-Namikaze?!"

"Yeah, that's right. Why, do you know the name?"

"Know it? Kid, I knew the man who spawned you."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "You knew the Yondaime? Can you tell me about him?"

The woman looked a bit sympathetic at the boy, for she already knew he was an orphan and knew he had to be curious about his heritage.

"Tell you what, Naruto... You double or nothing again, and if you win it, I'll tell you about him."

Naruto only grinned wider. "Sure! Pops, another double or nothing!"

--------

"And that's pretty much the life story of Namikaze, Minato." Tsunade finished, taking a long haul from her drink.

Jiraiya snorted. "From your side, anyway."

Shizune, once she found out that Naruto was Naruto, hugged him tight and hadn't wanted to let go.

"Shizune-nee, I'm not going anywhere, can you PLEASE let go of me?" Naruto begged.

The woman laughed before she did let go.

"Wow... That is a lot to know about my father... Thank you for telling me. I only knew bits and pieces from what the Kyuubi told me and from Jii-san. Ero-sennin won't tell me anything!"

Tsunade scowled. "That's because he's a selfish old coot who doesn't want to face the painful memories of his student! Hmph."

Jiraiya snorted again. "That's not true. Besides, look at you, wallowing in your own selfish despair from losing your loved ones!"

Tsunade cracked her knuckles. "Wanna say that again?"

Naruto stood up. "Enough, you two. You're arguing like a married old couple. Let's walk for a bit. I've got a lot to tell you, baa-chan."

The woman's brows shot up. "B-baa-chan?! You brat!"

Naruto sighed heavily. "It's an endearment, lady. I don't feel right calling you by name."

Shizune tried to hide a giggle at the term only to be given a glare from her mentor.

"Very well. Let's go." Tsunade finally sighed.

They got up and went walking down the streets.

"Well, to start it off... I know you don't want to return to Konoha, but Jii-san wants us to bring you back. Secondly, before you say anything about that, I'm going to tell you a long story that relates to the reason why he wants you back. Just listen, please."

The woman looked a little ticked, but nodded.

"Okay... This is going to be a little hard to believe. Even Ero-sennin doesn't fully believe it. Here goes: My teammates and I, nearly twenty-four years from now, go on a mission. It was a simple retrieval mission, it shouldn't be too hard. We went in, got the item, got out. It was a trap. We were surrounded. We fought an endless amount of shinobi. We came out as the victors, but... We'd sustained too much damage. We were dying even as we stood.

Watching my teammates lament what all mistakes they'd made, how unhappy they were, to see them resign themselves to death... I couldn't watch. I couldn't stand to see it happen. I had to save them, I knew I had to. I pleaded with the Kyuubi to unleash all of its chakra through me. I used what was left to unleash a jutsu--Time Release--I brought us back here to the past. We've got all our memories of a past--this timeline, and we're changing things that we could've prevented. The reason I'm standing here before you, asking you to come back is because... In a few days, Orochimaru's going to strike and if we don't anticipate the attack and counter it just right, Jii-san's gonna die."

Shizune gasped at the story, and Jiraiya's brows rose incredibly high. He hadn't been told this part! Tsunade's eyes remained wide for a long time.

"You... How can I believe this...?"

Naruto closed his eyes. "I'm not asking you to believe me, but I do need you to come back even if you don't. The Kyuubi can alter space-time, and since I am his Jinchuuriki, I had the power to alter it as well. I was unwilling to let my friends die such a fate. I told myself, I didn't care if it ripped apart my soul, so long as I could save them. We ended up in our seven year old bodies. We've been recreating our past to shape the future into something better."

Naruto hesitantly reached forward and took Tsunade's hand. He stared her directly into her eyes. "Please, baa-chan. I don't want to lose Jii-san. I don't want to have to see his funeral again. I don't want to mourn for someone who'd been like a grandfather to me. For the longest time, he'd been my only family. I want to change the course of the future to be a brighter one."

The woman stared down into Naruto's eyes, seeing only clarity, innocence, hope, fear, insecurity, but an undying determination and fire in them.

Slowly, she knelt down and pulled the boy close to her and embraced him. "Alright, gaki. You win. I'll return with you to Konoha. You're right, it wouldn't be the same without Sarutobi-sensei. I don't know if what you're saying is true or not, but... I feel like I can trust you. You speak with such a conviction, that I can't deny that what you say is possibly truth."

Shizune's eyes lit up. "We're going home, Tsunade-sama?"

"Hai, Shizune. We're going home." The woman replied as she let go of Naruto and stood up again.

Naruto smiled brightly up at her. "Thank you. This means so much to me."

Jiraiya frowned at Naruto. "Why didn't you tell me that Sarutobi-sensei was going to die, brat?!"

Naruto sighed. "Because you would've overreacted like you're doing now. At least here, we're away from the population of Konoha and so if you blew a gasket, no one important enough would hear you."

Tsunade started laughing. "Hoo, that's true enough. He does like to blow a gasket a lot."

Sputtering indignantly, Jiraiya began to rant, only to be ignored as the three began to walk off in the direction of Konoha. He was forced to shut up and run after them.

When they returned, Sakura was overjoyed.

"Shishou!" She cried happily, earning a raised brow from Tsunade.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Sakura, I'm Naruto's teammate. In the future you were...my shishou. I learned so much from you. You gave me the strength and confidance to be who I am." She smiled widely, her green eyes sparkling with happiness.

Tsunade was taken aback by the girl's honesty, but managed to smile. "Then you must've had great potential if I'd made you my apprentice. You'll have to show me your skill sometime."

The girl saluted with a broad grin. "Hai!"

Sasuke passed by with a small smile on his face and a wave to them.

"Sasuke-teme, you owe me ten bucks!" Naruto yelled after him, only to be responded to with a back-handed wave from Sasuke as he disappeared around a corner down the street.

Without much delay, they made it back to the sandaime's office.

"Ah, it's good to see you, Tsunade." He spoke slowly, taking a puff from his pipe.

"I... I'm...glad to be home." She responded.

Naruto smiled. Things were looking brighter already.

**TBC**


	17. Chapter 13

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** OH MY GOD I LIVE. Yes, truly, people I am alive. Perhaps not entirely 'back' yet, I am still without internet but rejoice people, I come with a new chapter to this baby. -trumpets blare, the choir sings, holy light shines down on the fic and the angels sing- I do beieve this chapter is my pride and joy. For this chapter, I recommend listening to Masanori Akita's "Time Hollow" from DDR and the Anime of the same name. It is the theme song of the fic, actually. Good song. But, without needing more words, on with the chapter!

* * *

The last days of the chuunin exam preliminaries and rest period went by too fast for the three, but they were ready. They'd already discussed the details with those that were important-Kakashi, Itachi, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune. They pointedly left the Sandaime out of some of the details, such as his death in order for them to change the course.

The events played out like before, just as the fight between Gaara and Sasuke started to get serious, the attack began.

"Hope you're ready," Sasuke called after Gaara as they both leapt past the falling rubble and began to make their way out into the chaos, trying to catch up with their team.

Gaara snorted, "Same to you."

Sasuke charged a Chidori to his hand and slammed through the wall, shattering it and allowing them to pass through without the trouble of taking the long way, they'd just be wasting time if they did.

Shikamaru was too caught off guard when the attack started. Everything had become a chaotic blur and he had to whirl around several times to get a sense of what was going on. Immediately, he tried to look around to find Sasuke. He caught sight of him and Gaara running off, but he couldn't make it fast enough to catch up and lost sight of them throughout the huge mass of destruction that was going on around him.

Naruto immediately took control of the situation with Sakura, he sent Sakura off to begin healing with Shizune while he headed deeper in to go help the village. He summoned an entire army of shadow clones and sent them off in every direction. "Kurama!"

In a red flash, the demon appeared. "I hope you know what you're doing, brat." He mumbled.

Naruto snorted. "So do I. Come on, get me to the action, I still haven't mastered my new hiraishin yet."

"Fine, fine. Damn brat." All but instantly, the two warped in another red flash and they appeared just in time to see the three against one fight against Orochimaru with Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the Sandaime.

He glanced frantically around for Itachi and Kakashi, only to spot them holding off the other sound and sand forces that were trying to interfere. Itachi had summoned a large flock of crows whereas Kakashi had summoned all of his nin-dogs. He quickly formed the seals, cut his palm with a kunai and slammed his hand on the ground. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

A good amount of warrior toads appeared and he quickly gave them all orders, sending them out into the fray. From there, he and Kurama observed from a distance to make sure things went alright and would only interfere if things were getting bad.

Sakura was biting her lip hard as she and Shizune were working heavily to keep their charges healed and evacuate the civillians and keep them out of harm's way. Hinata managed to break through the tides to join them, immediately honing her natural healing skills and the training Sakura had been giving her into helping. Neji had fought his way over and was doing his best to keep the enemy away from their working area.

Sakura decided it was now or never.

She stood. "Hinata, take care of them for me. Neji can't hold them all off on his own. I'm going to go help him."

The generally shy heiress nodded in compliance, knowing Sakura would be fine and could handle herself.

"Be careful!" Shizune cautioned.

Hands becoming a blur of seals, Sakura bit her thumb and smeared the blood across her other palm before slamming it down onto the ground. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

With a large poof, a flock of majestical looking eagles appeared, screeching their war cries. "Go!" She ordered them, taking charge by hopping up onto the back of the largest one. They took off, flying towards the frontlines where Neji had been diligently holding the enemy at bay with several other shinobi.

She ducked close to the eagle as it swooped down and closed her eyes as she heard the sickening sound of flesh being torn asunder under the mighty talons of her mount.

Neji stared up in wonder as the bird landed beside him and Sakura hopped down.

"Thought you could use a hand!" She called with a grin as she pulled on a pair of fingerless leather gloves. She motioned to the bird and it took off once again, flying back up to join the battle against the sound.

Sasuke and Gaara had split up, and Sasuke was now fighting on his own as wave after wave of sound and sand nins attacked him. He kept trying to find Shikamaru, to at least make sure he was alright, because the worry was beginning to make him panicky and hindering his fighting ability. He needed to be able to see. Unleashing a Chidori Stream to keep everyone at bay, he began to form seals.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" Letting his blood drip on the ground, a large hawk appeared and he lept onto it. "Up! I need to see!"

Without hesitation, the large bird beat its mighty wings and took to the sky. Being so high up, no one could notice if he activated his Sharingan. His eyes bled from onyx to red and the tomoes attached to the star-tips began to swirl as he looked down at the chaos below.

Everything was chaotic, Shikamaru found himself lost in the large sea of panic and devistation. He'd saw Kiba, Shino, Chouji, and Ino charging off in one direction, and was tempted to go help them, but his mind still screamed at him to find Sasuke.

So he was managing to weave through the chaos, using as much shadow coverage as possible to avoid fighting. His eyes kept darting around, but no avail, he couldn't find him.

"Shikamaru!"

He whirled around to see Sakura running up to him. She skidded to a stop, clutching at her chest as she caught her breath.

"Sakura? What's wrong?"

Sakura straightened, still wheezing. "S-sasuke-I was with him and we got ambushed, there were too many-he sent me off to get away, but Sasuke... We have to help him, please!"

Shikamaru nodded fervently. "Let's go!"

Nodding, the girl took off and Shikamaru began following her.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat...but I've some other things to attend to..." Orochimaru grinned to Tsunade, Jiraiya and the Sandaime.

He made several handseals and before Jiraiya could reach him, disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto then ran over to them, scowling heavily. "That dirty rotten cheater!"

"Where is he going?" the Sandaime asked.

Then, the Kyuubi appeared and sniffed the air. "It's hard to tell with all of these different scents muddling the air... But..."

Kurama suddenly stiffened. "He's... To the west! Quickly!"

He grabbed Naruto and began running, instead of warping because the snake sannin would sense him.

"What's-"

"No time, brat, just shut up and hurry!"

Shikamaru let out a pained grunt as he collapsed to the ground from the hit he received from Sakura-or who he'd thought was Sakura. Immediately, her form dissapated and left a silver haired, glasses wearing nin-what was his name...Kabuto?-in their place.

"Gomen, Shikamaru-kun... But this is necessary." Kabuto said, pushing his glasses up before he flicked his wrist.

"Restrain him."

Several Sound ninjas stepped forward and grabbed Shikamaru at his limbs before he could react. He struggled, but he couldn't break their grip. His eyes narrowed further, brows creasing. It finally dawned on him why they were going so far to capture him. 'Sasuke...' He struggled all the harder until Kabuto shook his head with a sigh and with a few hand-seals, completed a jutsu and Shikamaru's mind went blank and he went completely limp.

"Tsk. and I'd been so lenient, too... Ah, well. At least we've got what we need. Come, Orochimaru-sama will be here soon." He motioned for the ninjas that had ahold of Shikamaru to follow him and they picked up Shikamaru's still form and began to carry him after Kabuto.

It wasn't long until Orochimaru arrived at their destination. "Good work, Kabuto... Kukuku... This should surely catch dear Sasuke's attention."

Shikamaru groaned quietly, coming to from the jutsu that the other had put him under. His eyes fluttered, vision blurry. It took several blinks to clear his vision entirely. What he saw before him...was something he wished he hadn't. "Mendoukusai..." He mumbled to himself, heaving a sigh.

He wished with all his might Sasuke wouldn't come, but it was already too late...

Nothing escaped Sasuke's eyes and he'd soon honed in to see Naruto and Kurama running in the direction towards the forest, and he immediately turned his eyes to the forest to see Orochimaru and Kabuto with some sound lackies dragging Shikamaru that way.

"No!" He cried, before pushing his hawk summon into a dive.

Sakura had caught the flare of distress in her chest, she knew something was wrong; she looked around the battlefield, things were not right; where was the Sannin and the Sandaime? Where was Naruto and Kurama? And Sasuke? "No!" She heard the scream and looked up to see Sasuke's hawk summon in the distance pushing into a dive towards the forest.

She immediately turned. "Neji!"

The other didn't turn, but grunted in acknowledgement, Byakugan activated so she knew he was looking at her without needing to. "Go." He commanded quietly. "I'll handle things here."

She smiled weakly. "Thanks, Neji." She affirmed before she turned and began to run at full speed off towards the forest.

Naruto and Kurama had heard the scream and the Kyuubi winced, sniffing the air again. "Dammit,"

"What? What's going on?" Naruto asked confusedly.

"The snake has your friend's mate," Kurama responded.

"What?" Naruto yelled.

"Shut up, you fool! Do you want them to hear us?" Kurama snapped.

Naruto winced again, clamping his mouth shut for a long moment before speaking again. "How far away are they?"

"Approximately four hundred yards. We're too far away to do anything flashy-don't even try to use your Hiraishin, you'll blow all our chances at recovering him if you screw it up." The Kyuubi growled lowly in frustration, annoyed at the fact he was helpless, despite all his powers.

"..." Naruto looked around, created five kage bunshin and sent them off ahead of them. "I've got an idea..."

"It had better be a good one, brat."

Naruto grinned. "It's one of my trademarks."

Sakura's lungs were about to burst out of her chest by the time she caught up. She crouched low in a tall tree, camoflaging herself with a genjutsu she'd perfected that manipulated the air arround her, making a small area completely still, showing no movement at all, including sound and air, giving her all the time she needed to catch her breath. She noticed Naruto flying through the tree's and grabbed him, covering his mouth at the last second to prevent him yelling.

"It's me, dummy." She whispered into his ear.

'Naruto' nodded and she released him.

"Naruto has a plan," The clone informed her.

"Oh, good. I was afraid I'd have to come up with one myself." She answered wryly, making the clone grin back.

"So what's the plan?"

"Naruto plans to have us swarm everyone and in the midst of it, one of us stays behind and henges as Shikamaru and switch with him during the uproar." The clone informed her.

She nodded. "I can help with the confusion. I'm carrying a boatload of different items that would help you out. Here," She reached into her pouch and withdrew an entire set of kunai. "Use these on Kabuto, this should disable him for a little while if you can get one to pierce his skin. It's poisoned."

The clone grinned. "I love your thinking, Sakura-chan. Thanks."

She smiled proudly. "Take these, too."

She handed him some smoke bombs and a few flash bombs as well as a set of senbon. "Use the senbon to disable some of the sound lackeys. I'll sneak up during the attack and snipe 'em from the trees if I can. If worse comes to worse, I'll henge myself as well and attack directly."

The clone nodded. "I'll tell Naruto."

She nodded. "Good luck."

With a wave, the clone jumped from the tree, and she already knew the clone was relaying the information to Naruto and the other clones.

She stretched her body and cracked her neck, before her knuckles. With sign, four Sakura clones emerged from the trees themselves, materalizing from the midst of leaves and branches, taking shape and reforming to make an exact replica of her.

"Alright! Game time's about to start. Each of you move around the area and take up positions close to the scene. When Naruto's clones launch the attack, you flank the enemies with senbon and kunai. Keep moving around counter-clockwise to avoid detection and if the opportunity arises, take out Kabuto." She didn't know exactly why she was saying this aloud, she could have directly told the clones through her mind, but somehow, it sounded better to say it outloud. Perhaps to reassure herself.

_'Right! We're gonna take these suckers out good! SHANNAROU!'_ Her Inner Sakura raged joyfully, making her smile while the clones all nodded in agreement to her plan. Nodding, she broke the genjutsu shielding them. "Go!" She ordered them.

Immediately, like lightning, the four dispersed and she jumped from the tree to the next, shielding her chakra to mask her presense as she made to get closer.

Orochimaru and Kabuto stopped, making the other sound ninjas stop as well when they heard Sasuke's cry. Though before any of them could quite register what was going on, Sasuke's hawk barrelled straight into Orochimaru, just as Naruto's clones leapt into the scene, launching the poisoned kunai straight for Kabuto, and senbon at the other ninja's.

"Now!" Sakura whispered, and like magic, senbon and kunai began to rain down from the trees like a hailstorm of deadly accuracy.

"Damnation!" Orochimaru cried as the talons of Sasuke's hawk tore through flesh, but in a whirlwind of movement, the hawk was suddenly decapitated by his kusanagi sword and it disappeared in a poof of smoke, leaving a pissed off Sasuke standing there. It had taken all of his will to deactivate his Sharingan and now he was finding it hard to keep it so. Wordlessly he charged for the Sannin.

Shikamaru's eyes had widened at the attack, the numbing justsu Kabuto used on him prevented him from moving.

Kabuto scowled as he was forced to grab Shikamaru's lax body and kawarimi from spot to spot as kunai after senbon after kunai came at him. Suddenly two Naruto clones appeared infront of him and charged at him. He was forced to let go of Shikamaru reluctantly in order to fight back. Without noticing as the Naruto clones leapt upon him, a third Naruto clone put his hand on Shikamaru and instantly took his place, warping the other's body farther into the forest.

"What the..." Shikamaru mumbled, head spinning as he realized the switch.

"Be calm," Kurama spoke.

"Naruto's clone merely kawarimi'd with you, taking your place under a henge. You will be safe here with me. I will not allow that hebi near you."

Shikamaru's body fell back of it's own accord and his eyes rolled over to where the demon entity was standing and gave a wry grin. "Heh, thanks."

Naruto gritted his teeth, feeling every little cut and nick like it was happening directly to him as he watched his clones fight Kabuto. He was waiting for the right moment to use the last poisoned kunai Sakura had given him. A Sakura was in the same tree beside him, throwing more kunai and senbon out-he wasn't sure if it was the real Sakura or a clone, but he was still reassured by her presense.

Taking a deep breath, he leaped just as his two clones connected with Kabuto to make him stagger. Midway through his jump, he threw the kunai as hard and as fast as he could.

Kabuto's yell was priceless as it pierced deep into his right shoulder. The other Sound nin's were practically out of comission, literally living pincushions for kunai and senbon alike. Now it was just Sasuke and Orochimaru and Naruto and Kabuto.

Sakura's inner self was rejoicing at Naruto's ambush to Kabuto. _'Hah! Let's see him get himself out of THAT poison! Even he'll be hard-pressed to neutralize it...if he doesn't die first. Muahahaha!'_ Sakura chuckled quietly to herself, in agreement with herself, quite literally. She'd definitely done herself proud.

Sasuke was fairing on par with Orochimaru and his bag of tricks.

Just as Sasuke went in for another volley of attacks did Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the Sandaime appear with Itachi and Kakashi in tow.

"Damn you, brat. Oh, well. It is only a small hinderance." Orochimaru said airily.

"Orochimaru, you are not allowed to leave Konoha alive." The Sandaime said as he took another battle stance. "I will stop you here."

"Hah. As if you old buzzard can do anything. I've already gotten what I needed." He whirled and grabbed 'Shikamaru.' Sasuke's eyes widened. "No!" He screamed just as Orochimaru bit down on the clone.

A loud scream echoed through the forest.

After a long moment, the clone dispersed in a cloud of smoke.

"What the?" Orochimaru cried. Naruto fell down from where he'd been behind Kabuto, even his two clones fell to their knees, clutching their neck. "Goddamn you, you bastard! That really smarts!" He cried.

Orochimaru whirled. "You?"

"Yeah, teme. You got owned!"

Sasuke's face held shock. "Naruto..."

Naruto grinned weakly at Sasuke. "You still don't give me enough credit, bastard."

Sasuke trembled a little, feeling relief flooding through him. "Usuratonkachi... You're always trying to take the spotlight, aren't you." He replied.

Even Kabuto was in shock that he hadn't noticed the change between Shikamaru and the henge'd Naruto clone. Then again, he could hardly function due to the poison that was spreading fast through his system.

"Curse you, brats! I'll kill you all!" Orochimaru cried. At once, he began to make seal after seal in a blur of motion.

_'Oh, shit.'_ Sasuke, Sakura, Sakura's inner self, and Naruto chorused mentally as one when the recognized it.

Apparently, so did Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, for as one they moved into position and began to make counter-seals.

"You're too late!" Orochimaru cried victoriously as he finished his seal.

"Maybe not," Hiruzen replied as he finished his own seal.

Suddenly, a large ghastly figure surrounded him just as the three pillars from Orochimaru's jutsu rose. Immediately, he took out the one marked 'fourth' before it could fully materalize.

And once again, the final battle began to play out almost like before, the others staying back and watching as the Sandaime battled against Orochimaru and the Sho and Nidaime. This time, though, when the Nidaime pierced through him and he summoned the reaper and bound Orochimaru's arms, did anyone react and move.

"DAMN!" Orochimaru screamed in pain, frustration, and anger. "You may have thought yourself clever, but you're not! I will return, and Konoha will fall! Come, Kabuto!"

Dazed and fatigued from the poison, Kabuto managed to get over to where his Master stood and together they disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Sakura immediately rushed to the Sandaime, the Sho and Nidaime disappearing as if they'd never been there.

"Sasuke, Naruto! Help me." She called and all but ripped her gloves off and placed her hands close to the gaping wound and began to channel her chakra into it.

"It is too late, child." The Sandaime responded slowly, in a kind voice.

Sakura shook her head fiercely. "No it's not! It's not too late. It's never too late! I can save you, I know I can!" She replied through clenched teeth, managing to heal the wound completely. Tsunade had reacted from her fear of blood, but at seeing her supposed 'student' act so fearless and courageous, did she manage to push it back and knelt beside her and begin to heal him as well. Sasuke and Naruto were standing beside Sakura. Sasuke had placed a hairtie in her hair, and Naruto was wiping away the beads of sweat the girl had with a cloth.

Kurama warped onto the scene with Shikamaru bracing against him and looked on somberly.

Hiruzen smiled weakly. "Ah, youth... You fill me with pride knowing you'll help guide the next generation to a brighter future." He responded.

"No, you're not dying, Jii-chan! You'll be there to see the new future!" Naruto replied.

Sasuke nodded his head. "Hm,"

"S-Sarutobi-sensei..." Tsunade replied, a few tears welling to the corners of her eyes.

"Do not weep, Tsunade. I am old, and it it my time."

Tsunade shook her head as if denying the fact, the tears slowly falling down her face. "No, you can't..."

Sakura shook, no, she couldn't let this happen. "No! I won't allow it!" She cried. "Sasuke, Naruto, help me! We have one chance, and if we do it right, it'll work!"

The two boys looked between one another, to Sakura before nodding.

Hiruzen merely gazed dimly at them and Tsunade stared, trying not to get her hopes up, but wondering at the same time what it could be that would restore her sensei.

Together, the three brought their hands up and began forming matching seals and their chakra built and amassed around them, leaving nearly everyone standing there stunned at just how much they actually had, Naruto especially.

"Soul Release: Three Dragon Heads!"

They began glowing gold and Sasuke and Naruto joined hands before they put their hands on Sakura's shoulders, creating a triangle with their chakra and in a burst of bright light, three dragon's of pure chakra roared before fading and three visible chakra strings flowed through each of them.

Sakura brought her hands up to form new seals. "Tsunade-hime... You inspired me so much... I made a jutsu modeled after your Mitotic Regeneration."

Tsunade's mouth formed an 'o' of shock and awe at their display and how much chakra she could feel coming from the three, as if it were one entity.

"But it's with a new twist..." Sakura placed her hands on the Sandaime, she could feel he was already weak, but she was determined that she would save him. "Just hold on, Sandaime-sama..." She whispered, a green glow forming around her.

The glow enveloped the man and Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto let out screams at the same time that were full of pain, and suddenly a seal appeared on all three of their foreheads similar to Tsunade's and one then appeared on the Sandaime.

Right before everyone's eyes, there was a rapid tranformation.

Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto's bodies began to morph, and little by little, could you see them growing, getting older and older and then, when they looked to the Sandaime, slowly, he was getting younger and younger.

Tsunade's gasp was priceless. "They're...! They're reversing his age with theirs and taking his..."

Everyone around was stunned, including Kurama, who was thoroughly impressed with the pink-haired girl. His approval of her had risen much because of her capability of creating such a jutsu.

The three of them were about the age of their sixteen year old forms before there came a voice: "You may stop giving me your age, I am quite well now. Feeling rather refreshed, actually."

Sakura immediately stopped the jutsu and lying on the ground was the Sandaime, the equivelant of twelve years younger, thanks to the four years he gained from each of them. Slowly, she deactivated the jutsu and the seals upon their foreheads faded away. Fatigue suddenly settled into all three of their systems at once from the harsh toll and they wearily made a seal at the same time and the tri-connection between them broke, once again separating their souls and chakra.

"Oh, god, Sarutobi-sensei..." Tsunade replied, a few more tears falling down her face in relief.

"Do not weep, dear student. I am revived." The Sandaime said as he slowly sat up.

Jiraiya was floored. Kakashi stepped forward as did Itachi. "Are you sure you are well, Sandaime-sama?"

"Yes, yes. I feel much lighter now. Younger again. Ahh, the power of youth." He chuckled.

Itachi bowed his head and offered his hand to the man, who accepted and helped him stand.

"You... You actually came up with that jutsu?" Tsunade asked Sakura.

"Yes. The Three Dragon Head's seal was a jutsu thought up by all of us so that we would be able to share chakra freely back and forth between one another, be connected, but still be in the shape to move and fight. The Reverse Mitotic Regeneration, as I call it, I have not given it a name yet, is one I created just before we..." She trailed off, falling silent for a few moments before continuing. "Anyway, I created it for you."

"Me?" Tsunade asked, surprised.

"Yes. You had a new lover and...you were much older than them. I was going to teach it to you so you both could be about the equal age..."

Tsunade was moved. To think that this girl would have gone so far as to invent a jutsu just for her.

"It was a very clever and crafty jutsu, if I do say so myself." The Sandaime said. "Though it is highly dangerous as it swaps ages and you could possibly give away too many years of your life. It's not a Kinjutsu, but I think we'll mark it as an S Class one."

Sakura smiled. "Thank you, Sandaime."

"Jii-chan, you look really different now!" Naruto beamed.

Sasuke had gone over to where Kurama was bracing Shikamaru and slowly took him and let him lean against him.

"My god," Shikamaru breathed softly. "Where did you...? How did you...? You're..."

Sasuke swallowed. "Hush," He replied quietly. "I will explain later. Right now..."

He turned to Sakura. "Saku, could you release the numbing jutsu on Shika?"

Sakura stood wearily, nodding. "Yeah, gimme a sec." She stretched out her new body, earning pops and creaks, getting a few kinks out. The jutsu had aged them truly. When she took the hairtie out of her hair, long beautiful strands of pink cascaded down her back and shoulders.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried, grinning. "You're beautiful."

She smiled tiredly. "Thanks. You're kinda handsome, too. Though you could use a bit of a haircut."

Naruto let out a merry laugh, running a hand through his shaggy strands of blonde hair. "You think? I kinda like it."

She shook her head and walked over to Sasuke and Shikamaru. Sasuke had changed, too. His hair was now about as long as Itachi's, but thicker and some of it still spikes out in a former mimicry of his young self. She checked Shikamaru over before making a few simple signs and dispelled the jutsu.

"Thanks," Shikamaru mumbled.

"One last thing to ask," Naruto pointed out.

"What is it, dobe?" Sasuke replied.

"...Well, it's about the reaper." Naruto responded.

Hiruzen sighed. "I made a contract with him, he can still uphold it if he wishes."

Kurama held up his hand. "I believe that will not be an issue, for he already told me, in his own words. that "This should be very interesting and I will enjoy watching it play out.""

Naruto let out a relieved breath. "Well, that's a good sign. At least we amused him."

"Come, let us return to the field and see how bad things are." The Sandaime replied.

Three days later, there was a memorial for all those who had died defending the Leaf, the next, a celebration, to remember the good times had and to rejoice in their survival. The fifth day, was the announcement. They reiniated the two-man Hokage system and Tsunade was now promoted the new Godaime. Next came the explaination of why the Sandaime looked younger and why Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura looked older now.

"...We owe much to three great people. People who carry the true Will of Fire, who shine brightly against the wind and the rain, who can weather any storm." Tsunade announced loudly to the crowd of people.

"They sacrificed not only their lives, though they are not dead, to restore our Sandaime to great health and youth but they defended us single-handedly against Orochimaru! I am hereby proud to present to you, Uchiha, Sasuke."

The crowd cheered as Sasuke stepped forward. He was wearing a black yukata with a mesh shirt underneath, the family crest on the back, and traditional training pants, his katana strapped at his side and his bracers and shinguards on. He had his hair tied back with a few silver ribbons flowing down through the locks.

"Uzumaki, Naruto!"

The crowd gasped in surprise as Naruto appeared, he wore black training pants and a black mesh longsleeved top with an orange shirt over it with his traditional spiral on it, his shaggy locks trimmed and his headband pushing some of the bangs back. He looked the spitting image of the Yondaime. He smiled brightly out at the people.

"And Haruno, Sakura!"

Sakura stepped forward. She was dressed in black training shorts, bandages wrapped around her legs to the knees that concealed many of her weapons, and also wore a black mesh longsleeve with a short midrift red zip-up top with her white seal on the back. her long hair flowed gently in the small breeze, her hitai-ate glinting in the light. She bowed slowly.

"I hereby promote Sasuke, and Naruto to Chuunin for their aid against Orochimaru and the saving of the Sandaime. For their clever tactics and impressive teamwork." Tsunade replied, stepping forward to present the two with their new flak jackets.

They accepted them with a polite bow.

"And finally, for her incredible medical expertise at such a young age, for the quickminded thinking and the execution of an S class jutsu that saved the Sandaime, I hereby promote Haruno, Sakura to Tokubetsu-Jounin!"

Sakura's jaw dropped. She stared in shock as Tsunade approached her, smiling proudly down at her as she gave her, her own flak jacket. "You're the best medic I've seen since Shizune and I. If this is your potential, then I may have to place my hopes in you for the future." Tsunade murmured privately to her.

"S-Shishou..." Sakura mumbled, eyes tearing up as she bowed deeply and accepted the jacket.

Tsunade stepped away and addressed the crowd once more. "These three gave more than they ever had to. They sacrificed part of themselves to give our Hokage life! Do you not agree that they are worthy of these titles?"

There was dead silence, not a single objection.

"Then come, citizens of Konoha. Let us rejoice in the good health and newfound youth of our Sandaime!" She cried loudly.

Many of the crowd raised their hands in response. "The Sandaime!" They cried back.

Tsunade smiled. "That is all. Let us work together to rebuild Konoha to its former beauty and let us look proudly to the future for all the capable Shinobi and civillian alike we have and all the sacrifices they make."

With that, Tsunade stepped down and Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke followed her inside of the Hokage tower.

"That was a powerful speech, Tsunade." The Sandaime praised.

Tsunade blushed a little. "Thank you, Sarutobi-sensei."

Then, the man turned to the three. "With your new titles come new responsibilities. You're also now an example to the other Shinobi and civillian's alike. I have faith you will not do anything to jeopardize that example."

They bowed. "Thank you, Sandaime-sama."

"You are dismissed. Go, celebrate and have fun."

The three turned and walked out of the tower proudly.

**TBC**


	18. Chapter 14

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC: **So, this is the new chapter to Crisis reverted... I have finally come out of the closet with who Naruto was with in the prior timeline. This timeline, however, I am still open to suggestions as to who he may end up with. Oh and with this chapter, it starts a new 'arc' so to speak. Hope you all enjoy it! This is my longest chapter yet for this fic and it is a pride, indeed. I also hope you'll forgive me for the small cliffhanger at the end. With that, I give you the chapter to read!

* * *

Sasuke had a hard time explaining to Shikamaru everything, because the other would just...blankly stare for a long while as if unbelieving. It took him a long while to explain to his mother his new looks, as well. But once she accepted and found out about his promotion, she was overjoyed. She was extremely proud of Naruto and told him so, even saying how much he looked and acted like his father.

Hyuuga, Hiashi was thoroughly pleased and impressed with Sakura's development in her promotion. She had explained to him what the jutsu was like and even Hinata and Neji were impressed. They readily accepted her growth. It, however, took much longer for her family to accept and understand without her telling them she was from the future, even then, they probably wouldn't have understood.

Iruka had practically showered Naruto with ramen in celebration and gave him a long lecture of his duties and obligations and such. Naruto had the gall to fall asleep through part of it and was smacked awake by the other chuunin.

The days passed by, the reconstruction process going by fairly quickly, though at a heavy price to the shinobi for they were hardpressed for many missions to bring in money for said construction. Sakura was nearly spinning around in circles with so many things happening around her she didn't even hardly have time for herself.

First there was missions, then reports to fill out, then training with Neji and Hinata, then helping Tsunade in the medic wing, then possibly helping out at the academy on her non-mission days...good grief, she was only human.

She had finally found a little time to herself before her meeting up with Neji and Hinata, she was waiting at the training ground, leaning against a tree. She'd been wearing down fast. She'd had to readapt to being bigger, rather quickly, had to keep on the go, she had little time for sleep, to eat, it was just go, go, go. She had dark circles under her eyes and when inquired to about it, she'd just smile and tell them she felt fine. She closed her eyes as she waited, evening out her breathing and just let her body relax.

And it thanked her immensely. She listened to the sound of the wind through the grass and trees, to the birds singing, the bees humming, and the sound of _life_ around her and felt refreshed. Before she knew it, she'd slipped into a doze.

When Neji and Hinata did show up, they were not that surprised to see her in such a state.

"We should let her rest," Hinata suggested.

Neji nodded. They both went over to her. It was difficult, considering her newfound body, but they managed to hoist her up onto Neji's back and together, with Hinata helping to support her cousin, they began to walk back to the Hyuuga compound. When they reached, they gently set her inside of a guest room and informed Hiashi of Sakura's state and requested she be allowed to rest.

"That is fine. Haruno-san has been put on the spot with her newfound duties, I myself am surprised she's lasted this long without a break. When she awakens, please tell her she does not have to train with you for a month, that she needs the rest to be able to get back to top form." Hiashi said.

They both bowed and returned to Sakura's side and waited.

"What do you think of it, Neji-niisan?" Hinata asked softly, she'd gained the ability to be able to speak freely to her cousin without fear of retrobution, losing her stutter thanks to the confidance Sakura had given her.

"I believe Sakura-chan is a very strong-willed woman. When she puts herself to something, she sees it through. She is very dedicated and I highly respect her." Neji responded, looking the sleeping teen over almost fondly before looking back to Hinata.

The heiress nodded in agreement. "Un, I'm glad Father approves of her, too. She's a good friend and she's taught me a lot..." She smiled shyly, poking her fingers together, but soon stopped herself and straightened back out.

Neji gazed at his cousin approvingly. He was glad to see that Hinata was trying her hardest to break her old ways and try and become a more confidant shinobi. They then sat in relative silence the rest of the time until Sakura woke up a couple of hours later.

"How did I...? Oh, Neji, Hinata... Did I fall asleep?" Sakura yawned.

"Yes, we carried you back to our house. Father said you don't have to train with us for a month if you don't want to because of your new duties, he understands that you're busy and that you should get as much rest as possible to stay in top form." Hinata informed.

"Oh... Thank your father for me, please. He's a godsend. Not that I don't iwant/i to train, there's just so much to do now." Sakura said.

Neji nodded. "Yes, even the genin teams are complaining about how much work there is to be done. Lee is thrilled at all the prospect of work. Tenten's...not thrilled, and Gai is...well, Gai. The bloom of youth and all that crap."

Sakura chuckled. "Yes, I'm sure. The change of pace is not unwelcome, it's just... Adapting to this new body. It's harder to do so when on the go so much. I haven't had time to properly take the time to train it so I'm still inflexable and shaky at some things because of it."

"If you'd like, Sakura-chan... I could massage your body and help relax the muscles with my Jyuuken." Hinata offered.

"Oh, bless you, Hinata. You're wonderful. I couldn't ask that of you, though."

The girl smiled again. "I don't mind. If you feel you need it, I would be glad to help you. It's the least I can do in return for you helping me so much."

Sakura sighed softly before chuckling. "I suppose I could spare some time today if you're up to it. My body feels as if it could break apart at any given moment."

Neji stood and nodded. "I will leave you two for the massage. Call, if I am needed or when you are finished."

The girls nodded and bade him goodbye for the moment. Hinata smiled broadly as she took off her coat and pushed her long-sleeves up. "Do you wish to remain in your clothes, Sakura-chan?"

"Nah, we're both girls, right? It doesn't bother me to be naked anymore." Sakura answered as she stood up and proceeded to strip down to nothing before laying back on the bed and swept her hair to the side, pillowing her cheek on her arms.

Hinata merely hummed in agreement, going to the tall cabinet on the far side of the room and withdrew several bottles and vials. Pleasant scents assaulted Sakura's senses and she relaxed visibly with a small sigh of comfort.

"What would you like? I have vanilla, lavender, and orange blossom." Hinata asked as she rubbed her hands with the cleansing oil to remove all toxin and dirt from her hands.

"Hmm... I like them all, but let's go with vanilla. It gives off a mysterious aura but a playful, sweet one as well." Sakura answered.

Hinata giggled softly. "Much like you, Sakura-chan. You are mysterious sometimes, but you're very sweet and kind. You've done so much to help Neji and I."

The Hyuuga heiress picked up the vanilla massage oil and poured a generous amount into her hands and rubbed them together, warming it up before she activated her Byakugan and placed her hands on the girl's shoulders.

"It's no trouble...really. I enjoy training with you two. It also helps me become stronger and better as well. I learn a lot from your traditions and battle styles." Sakura responded.

Hinata's expression became puzzled as she studied Sakura's chakra network. "Your network is different... It looks as if it's been disconnected in places. Shall I fix them?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, it's alright. I moved them myself. I set my tenketsu points differently so my chakra could flow faster through a shorter network. I reconnected some of the points to others. Especially in my arms, take a look."

Hinata moved her eyes a little and a moment later her brows rose. "You've completely rewired the network in your arms?"

"Yes, it works more effeciantly for me if I can channel chakra through my arms at a faster rate, that's what gives me so much strength."

Hinata was a little awed. "Do you think...you could teach me? If we could develop a safe way to rewire chakra networks... Think of how much more effecient and durable our Shinobi could be."

Sakura made a thoughtful sound as Hinata began to massage against her shoulders. "That might be a good idea, but look at the downsides. It puts the body under serious stress, I have to compression wrap my arms if I over use them too much, moving the chakra networks out of their original areas can be dangerous no matter what you do because you're then rendered vulnerable in those areas. The chakra network is set up so that all of the body is protected in some way. Moving them can cause a serious imbalance. I suffered terribly after I moved mine for a long time."

Hinata thought about this while continuing to massage the girl. "When did you move them?"

Sakura sighed. "Just after I became a genin. We nearly died in our first C-rank mission, it was really an A-rank. Afterwards, I swore I'd never let myself feel that useless again and I studied my chakra networks obsessively and through sheer force of will on my part, managed to make them move on their own through a harsh training regimine with Sasuke and Naruto."

Hinata was awed again. "You're...really a great kunoichi, Sakura-chan. I don't think I could ever have the dedication you have."

"That's not true, Hina-chan. You're a great kunoichi, too. You just need some more confidance in yourself and find something you're passionate about. Me, I want to help people. I've studied all the medical books I can get my hands on, I've done my best to master as many techniques as well. The Godaime herself even said she'd help me train once things have settled down to teach me more."

"You're lucky, Saku-chan."

"Nah, it's just circumstance. I'm sure if you tried really hard, too, you'd be really amazing."

They fell into silence for a while as Hinata worked carefully and gently over Sakura's body, draining all the fatigue and tension away from her muscles, the Jyuuken soothing any ache and pain she felt. She nearly fell back asleep as she allowed Hinata to manipulate her body around and roll this way and that, it felt that natural. She was, however, a little disappointed when Hinata said she was finished.

She groaned a little, yawning with lethargy. "Oh, man. That was the best thing I've ever felt."

Hinata giggled. "I'm glad I could help."

"You know, you'd be a good massage therapist or good with physical therapy, you'd be able to soothe the injured with your Jyuuken." Sakura said as she put her clothes back on and re-wound the bandages around her legs, placing all of the weapons back into their proper places before slipping her flak jacket back on.

Hinata blushed a little. "You think?"

"Yes, your Byakugan can see every little tendon out of place, every tense area; you'd be a godsend to them."

Hinata smiled shyly. "Then... Maybe I will ask my Father if I can study more of our techniques from the scrolls and tell him about it."

Sakura nodded enthusiastically. "That would be great. Your clan are great healers, they're invaluable. I wish I could learn some of the techniques you use."

Hinata looked contemplative again. "I could ask Father for you, if you wanted. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

She shook her head. "Oh, no. I couldn't have you do that. Really, it's okay. I was just saying... I didn't really mean for you to take that seriously. I mean, wouldn't I have to marry into the clan or something to be allowed access?"

The other frowned a little. "Well, normally, yes. But there have been, and are, exceptions. You've been among the exception in our clan, I'm positive Father would let you see our healing technique scrolls."

"I couldn't do that. I mean, that's a huge trust your father would be placing in me that I could become a liability even with this seal on my head."

Hinata shrugged slowly. "I understand. But if you ever change your mind, know you're always welcome to ask."

Sakura smiled and nodded her head. "I know. Thanks. We should probably go get Neji now."

The girl nodded and retrieved her coat as they exited the room and found Neji outside training by himself. Sakura stared transfixedly as her green eyes followed his every movement and took in every little detail of the way his body moved. Hinata glanced over to Sakura to catch her staring and smiled softly to herself. Her cousin and Sakura would make a good match, indeed, she thought to herself before she slowly stepped down from the porch and interrupted the other Hyuuga. "We're finished now, Neji-niisan."

The male slowly pulled out of his stance and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them. "Thank you, Hinata-sama." Slowly, his eyes found their way to the porch to Sakura, catching her eyes and they stared. Sakura wanted to fidget under his gaze, as if he could see everything in her with his sharp, off-white eyes. She did her best not to blush as she pushed a smile onto her face.

"Your form is beautiful, Neji-kun." She murmured, breaking the stare before she caved under it, it felt so heavy.

He dipped his head as he straightened to his full height again. "Thank you, Sakura-chan. But it's still not perfect."

She chuckled softly, melodic and chiming sounding. "Is that really all you care about, perfection?"

"No," Neji answered. "I care about a lot more things now, thanks to you and Hinata-sama."

Hinata blushed at him mentioning her and shook her head, and Sakura fought off her own urge to blush. "I'm glad."

Unbeknowist to them, Hiashi had watched the entire scene from within the shadows of the compound, finding himself smiling just a little. The Haruno girl was a great asset, indeed. She was not only showing the two progress, but was opening them up to the future ahead. He was not surprised at the girl's hidden feelings for Neji, and he approved of them. If it had been any other girl-especially Neji's female teammate-he would never allow such a thing. But to see such a beautiful blossoming between the two as they got closer and closer, he knew this girl was a good match for his nephew.

Sasuke sighed heavily as he gazed down at Shikamaru who was looking up at him with a slightly annoyed expression.

"What do you want me to say? I can't exactly help the fact I'm now taller and older than you."

Shikamaru sighed, scratching the back of his head, though the annoyed expression remained. "It was bad enough you were older than me anyway, but now you're taller, and even _more_ older than me." He grumbled.

"Well, you'll catch up. Sakura says that we won't age any further until our physical age catches up to our body's age. I'm not that much taller, am I?"

Shikamaru stood on his tiptoes and even then, his eyes only came to about Sasuke's nose. He snorted and Sasuke sighed again. "Point taken. Is it really so bad, though?"

Shikamaru shook his head and shrugged. "I guess not. It's just..."

Sasuke nodded. "I know, it's a big jump in differences. But really, just because I'm taller and physically older, I'm still me. I'm still the same Sasuke you know. Nothing else has changed but my looks."

"...If possible, I think you've gotten even more attractive, which will make the populace of females lust after you even _more_ which is troublesome enough, but I'll probably have to fight tooth and nail with your ever-growing fanbase just to keep you with me."

Sasuke frowned. "Is that what this is about? You're jealous?"

Shikamaru looked away with a small shrug. "I guess so."

Heaving yet another sigh, Sasuke seized Shikamaru's hand and snagged him close, using his other hand to tilt their head up, he leaned down, kissing him deeply.

Letting out a startled sound, Shikamaru didn't react for a long moment before his eyes slipped closed and he returned the kiss greedily. Their kiss lasted several long moments before Sasuke pulled away. "I'm not going anywhere, Nara, Shikamaru. I chose you and I'm not leaving, so don't even think for a _second_ that I'm going to leave you for some overzealous, insane, obsessive fangirl or anyone else just because I've changed physically."

Shikamaru nodded, still a little dazed by their kiss.

"But," Sasuke added on, a sly grin coming to his face. "If you want to get a head-start from the fangirls..."

Shikamaru's brow rose and he gave a wry grin of his own. "You're evil. However, I think I will."

Without much ceremony, Shikamaru pressed up against Sasuke, catching his lips in another kiss and they disappeared in a swirl of leaves from where they'd been standing in the courtyard of the Uchiha district.

Naruto sat on the swing outside of the academy, elbows hooked around the ropes, his hands threaded behind his head and was leaning backwards as he swung lazily back and forth, a glossy look in his bright blue eyes, a thoughtful look to his expression. Class had ended and everyone had left, only a few students stayed behind to practice, but they were all the way on the other side of the school, so it was still and quiet.

"What're you thinking, Naru-chan?" Came a voice and suddenly, Kakashi's masked visage appeared upside down.

Naruto's lips curled up into a small smile before he tilted his head so he could look properly at the other male. "About how peaceful this moment is, and how happy I am for Sasuke and Sakura. They're making something great of themselves."

"So are you, Naruto." Kakashi replied

"I know, but they have their significant others supporting them. That's what I'm happy about. They have those that they love, those that they've sworn to protect to the death. It's they who encourage Sasuke and Sakura to improve. While I want to be Hokage and protect the entirety of Konoha, I have no lover behind me."

"I've actually been meaning to ask you about that... Did you have a lover in the other timeline?" Kakashi asked curiously.

"Yeah, I did... One died, though." Naruto replied solomnly.

"Oh? Now you have me curious. Will you tell me?"

Naruto's lips twitched, becoming a thin line. "...No."

"Why not?"

"...Because it hurts too much to speak of the moment."

Kakashi sighed softly, placing one hand ontop of Naruto's head, feeling how soft his locks of hair actually were despite how wild they were in appearance, much like Minato's...too much like Minato's...

"I understand, Naruto. But at the same time, you shouldn't keep something like that hidden inside of you, it'll only hurt you more and keep you from possibly loving the one you're to be with in this timeline."

Naruto sighed softly. "I had two lovers. One right after the other. The first..." He fell silent for a long while. "...You promise not to laugh?"

"Well, I can't promise if you say it's Gai," Kakashi joked softly.

Naruto's lips quirked half-way in an amused way. "No, Kami no, it's not Gai; are you trying to ruin my image?"

"Sorry,"

"No you're not."

"Stop avoiding the subject, Naruto."

"Okay, okay..." Naruto mumbled, sucking in a deep breath again, calming his jittery nerves and the pain that accompanied every thought of each memory.

"...Jiraiya."

Whatever Kakashi expected, this wasn't it. His expression changed from mildly amused to completely puzzled. "Jiraiya-sama?"

"Yes... I don't know if it's because of part of my father's soul still harboring in my body, or if it's entirely me. Because I already know he and Jiraiya were lovers. And I know he was your first, too, Kakashi-sensei. The whole sensei-student thing seems to be a commonplace irony."

Kakashi's expression then morphed to a semi-pained one at the mentioning and he averted his eye. "Yeah... He was. Minato-sensei was always so kind and loving to me, no matter what I did."

Naruto nodded solomnly, eyes downcast to the ground as he rocked back and forth on his ankles on the swing. "Either way... I don't ever think Jiraiya truly loved me back, but I fooled myself into believing he did. I was his inspiration for his reasearch, after all. As long as I kept his attention away from the girls and the onsen, I was happy. As long as he was looking at me..." Naruto closed his eyes and Kakashi saw a single tear slip down the teen's face and felt his heart squeeze.

"Naruto..." Kakashi began.

"No, don't give me sympathy, don't give me pity. It was my own doing, my own fault. I set myself up for a fall. But I, I... I could barely handle it when I heard he was killed..."

Kakashi's brows rose. "He was...?"

"Yeah... Pein of the Akatsuki killed him. He had once been Jiraiya's student along with two others that he'd saved... But slowly his heart twisted from the pain of losing a loved one and seeing so much war around him with no vision of peace in sight. It corrupted his heart. In the end, though... He found it. He found peace as he died.

Until that point, I had never felt so much hatred, the urge to kill, the endless loneliness that suddenly consumed me. I then understood what Sasuke had been through. But when I saw how lost Pein was, just as I was, I suddenly saw; we were brothers. We were both students of the same sensei, we'd both understood pain and loss. I found it in my heart to forgive."

"You're a loving soul, Naruto. A very pure one. I'm sure Jiraiya saw this and loved you." Kakashi murmured.

Naruto's lips trembled. "Thank you, that...means a lot to me."

"You said you had another lover, though." Kakashi pointed out.

"I...did."

"Who was it?"

Naruto went silent for a long while, closing his eyes and Kakashi watched as an entire spectrum of emotions played out over his face before it settled back into a calm.

"You."

Kakashi blinked. "Me?"

"Yeah...strange, isn't it? I'm beginning to think it was my father's influence. At first, I didn't want to get close, you only reminded me of Jiraiya. We'd picked up Jiraiya's unfinished manuscript and wanted to finish it for him. I...said I'd model for you like I did Jiraiya, but nothing more than that. But eventually... Eventually..." Naruto's eyes went glossy and he looked away.

"Anyway, I'm not asking you to love me in this timeline. It hurts me to say it, because I still love you, but I understand that this may be much for you to swallow. I know your perceptions of me are still distorted with that of my father, and I don't want you to love me because of that. If you loved me, I'd want it because you could see me completely as Naruto, not partially as Minato, or even as his son. But just as plain, simple Naruto. I know the age difference is a strain, but... I'm older now in body, but not age. It sucks, because you're still much more older than me."

Kakashi stood there in silence for a long while, mind reeling at the information. Naruto sighed and stood up. "I'm sorry, I... I shouldn't have told you. I should get going, I was gonna go pester Jii-chan and Baa-chan soon, anyway." He tried to put on a grin but it was strained thin.

As the blond went to walk away, Kakashi grabbed his wrist. "Naruto, wait."

Naruto turned his head back towards him.

Kakashi sighed. "I... I don't know if I can love you, Naruto. But, I'm glad you told me. It helps me to understand what you've gone through and what I should or shouldn't say. I don't want to give you mixed signals and confuse you in any way, you don't deserve that. If anything, I think you deserve better than me."

Naruto let out a soft laugh, it was tinged with bitterness. "You said the same thing, but I understand. Thank you."

All Kakashi could do was nod dumbly as he released Naruto's wrist and watched him walk down the street at a lazy pace before he rounded the corner after a few blocks. He suddenly felt like he wanted to run after him, to apologize. For what, though? He'd told him the truth, and Naruto told him how he felt about the situation. Still, he felt as if he were missing something.

"Kakashi, you idiot. You just messed up, big time." He mumbled to himself and sighed, shaking his head. Well, he'd said what he'd said, he couldn't take it back now. He pulled out his Icha Icha book and began to walk the opposite direction towards his apartment, but found he couldn't concentrate on the words and sentences of the book, all that kept replaying was the sad, lonely and somewhat hollow expression the teen had on when he left.

He really was an idiot.

Five months later, Sakura was standing in the office of the Hokage's and presented them with a scroll containing her idea.

"I think this is a great idea, Sakura." Tsunade said proudly as she looked over the long detailed scroll the girl had written.

Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe. "Not a bad idea, at all. What do you propose should be done?"

Sakura cleared her throat; Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi were standing behind her in silent support.

"I believe we should hold multiple tests of survival for the genin. I've noticed these past few years that...our genin teams are not nearly as on par as they should be. They are not as well prepared. I believe we should create a large exersize for them that should last two, maybe three months under the supervision of the Jounin with several Anbu involved to monitor."

The two Hokage's looked thoughtful for a long while.

"That is a wise idea," The Sandaime said as he exhaled some of the smoke from his pipe and Tsunade nodded. "What do you suggest we do about the genin?"

"Well, I suggest taking three teams to a group and sticking them in an extraordinary situation. A hypothetical situation that they're stranded on their own and must work together to survive. The Anbu can pose as their tests, they must learn to think quick, act quicker, and stay calm. It would not only improve teamwork, but adaptability as well as flexibility." Sakura explained.

"Hmm... I see you've already thought it all out. What would your involvement with this be?"

Sakura grinned. "It will be different for each group, but I will be collaborating with the other Jounin sensei to help me create even more hypothetical scenes within the scene. Attempting to instill panic, disrruption, ect. I would, however, ask that Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma's teams be stuck together. I've...a somewhat sinister plan in mind for them."

Both the Hokage's brows rose. "Oh? Do explain."

Sakura's inner side came out in the form of a wicked grin. "It goes like this..."

"Mendoukusai..." Shikamaru mumbled as he trudged along behind everyone.

"Oh shut up before I smack you!" Ino complained.

Chouji just took another bite of his chips.

"Why do we have to do this stupid mission?" Kiba complained as well, Akamaru yipping an agreement.

"It's an important one. Why? Because if it requires this many in a team, then it surely means it can possibly be very dangerous." Shino replied.

Hinata nodded in agreement. "It must be... B-but I have faith we can accomplish it." She murmured shyly.

"Hinata's right! We have the power of youth on our side! We'll accomplish this mission in no time at all!" Lee called gaily.

"Don't even start with that bloom of youth stuff, Lee! Do you iwant/i a mace in your skull?" Tenten said exasperatedly.

"Er... Sorry, Tenten?"

Neji just sighed. "Let's just get this over with."

Sakura nodded. "Right! Let's see... Our destination is the land of waves! Now remember everyone: Sasuke, Naruto, and I are only here as guides; everything else depends on your actions whether this mission is failed or succeeded." She said seriously. "So be alert, even though the land of waves is relatively safe, there are still some areas we'll be passing through that will be dangerous."

Naruto grinned. "Yosh! Let's go!" He pumped his fist before turning on his heel and began to walk.

Sasuke rolled his eyes with a small chuckle. "Dobe," He goaded as he began to walk after him.

"Teme," Naruto shot back.

Sakura sighed. "Do we have to listen to your macho, testosterone filled contests of who's more manly than who the whole way or is there a possibility we can skip it?" She asked, getting a few laughs from the group as they all began to move at a relatively fast pace in the direction of the Land of Waves.

"Hey!" Naruto protested with a pout.

Sasuke merely smirked. "That depends on if you want to hear Naruto whine the whole way instead."

Zabuza grinned faintly to himself. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura had contacted him and Haku, offering them a nice job in helping them train a group of genin in survival. He chuckled a little. Oh, he'd teach them, alright.

Haku refrained from chuckling. "Your glee makes me happy, Zabuza-sama. Though it would be wise if you refrained from going too hard on the group... We would not want them injured too seriously beyond Sakura's repair."

"Pah," Zabuza responded. "I know, but that still doesn't stop me from having a little fun with these runts."

Haku smiled beneath his mask. "Hm." Was all he responded with as he leapt to the trees. "I will go see if they have arrived yet."

In a flash, the youth was gone, leaping ahead through the trees with grace.

Naruto trudged on ahead, grinning broadly with his hands behind his head. He was looking up at the sky idly when he saw a shadow flash across the treetops. He fought his instincts to stop, but he managed to keep walking, tilting his head to look towards Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke's fingers twitched in response and Sakura blinked twice to affirm they saw what he had.

He looked back towards the treetops, squinting his eyes, channeling chakra to the lenses in his eyes to enhance his vision like a camera lens and saw Haku crouched in the treetops, twirling a senbon in signal that he and Zabuza were at the ready.

He then pretended to yawn before waving his hands in the air in response to the signal, all while speaking: "Maaaan, aren't we there yet? I'm bored!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Dummy. We're almost there and if you say that again..." She cracked her knuckles threateningly.

Sasuke let out a sound that he was sure was a muffled snicker.

Naruto pouted. "B-but Sakura-chaaaan," He whined.

Just as they entered the middle of the clearing...

"Duck!" Neji yelled.

Simultaneously, everyone dropped to the ground as a whirlwind of senbon went flying past the places they had been standing.

"What the hell?" Kiba yelled as he whipped his head towards the direction the senbon came from, sniffing the air. "I can't smell anything!"

"My kikaichuu are detecting movement through the trees at an extraordinary rate. We've got to be careful." Shino responded.

"Byakugan!" Hinata and Neji chorused as they activated their Kekkei Genkai.

"I see them!" Hinata said, focusing in on the figure. "But they're moving so fast that I can barely keep up."

Neji's eyes were rapidly twitching back and forth as he tried his hand at tracking the figure. "There's something different about this figure... I can't put my finger on it, but..." His eyes squinted. "They move too fast for me to analyze their chakra, but there's definately something different about them. They are no ordinary shinobi."

"Everyone, move! Defensive formations! Shino, Hinata, Neji, do your best to relay us when they're going to strike. We can't attack until we can flush the figure out-" Sakura was almost finished with giving her orders before Neji's eyes widened. He lunged forward, nearly tackling the girl as a large sword came flying through the air past them and embedded itself on the other side of them in a tree.

"Hahahaha! You brats are actually pretty good." Came a voice.

Naruto and Sasuke whirled towards the voice, dropping into stances immediately, pretending that this had taken them off-guard. "You!" Naruto cried accusingly.

Zabuza then jumped down from the tree the sword had embedded itself into and pulled it free effortlessly. "Yes, me. You didn't think I would just simply disappear into the shadows did you?"

"You know them, Naruto?" Lee asked.

"Yeah... We nearly died the first time encountering him on our first A-ranked mission. His name is Zabuza, he's an S-class criminal from the mist. He's one of the seven Demon Swordsmen."

"Haha, I see you haven't forgotten. Shall I finish what I started and carve you up in the seven ways I promised? Actually, your companions look much more green, I think I'll start with them and save you punks for dessert!"

Neji helped Sakura to stand and she pulled her gloves on. "No you won't! Neji, Hinata, get everyone else out of here, there's no hope of you guys taking him on. If we nearly survived the first time..."

"We can take 'em!" Kiba called arrogantly.

It was at that moment that Zabuza unleashed his full killer intent.

Nearly everyone dropped to their knees under the extreme pressure, for they had never felt such a thing.

Neji struggled, gritting his teeth until he managed to stand, fighting off the wave of fear that tried to overcome him. Hinata, seeing her cousin rise, did her best and struggled to stand as well.

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura all felt chills go down their spines, but they did not react to the aura.

Zabuza pointed his sword at them. "You brats aren't anything. I'll show you the real terror of a shinobi!"

Sakura stepped forward. "I won't let you harm any of my team! I'll crush you this time!"

Sasuke and Naruto nodded, taking their stances behind her.

Sakura turned her head towards the others. "Run, get away. We'll hold him off."

Neji wanted to protest, but he also knew by the feel of this enemy, they had no chance of defeating him, even with all of them there. He nodded begrudgingly. "Let's go!"

Everyone stood and turned, running in the opposite direction of Zabuza. They only got so far before they were forced to veer off because a wall of senbon forced them to stop. Haku jumped down then. "I'm afraid I cannot allow you to leave."

Naruto and Sasuke turned. Sakura's eyes widened. "Sasuke, Naruto, go protect the others. As team leader, I'll keep Zabuza busy."

"My, my. You've gotten rather confidant haven't you, girl? I remember how much you shook and trembled before. Let's see if you've improved since then!" Without warning, the man lunged for her. She dodged to the side and jumped, flipping over Zabuza's blade that swung for her, ducking as he slashed it for her head before twisting and diving away as he brought it down at her.

"Hm, better. But you're still weak!" He stabbed his sword into the ground and jumped, delivering the girl a swift kick to the ribs when she stood.

"Agh!" She cried as she went flying back.

Naruto and Sasuke glanced back towards her, but didn't take their attention off of Haku.

"Stand aside... I have no intentions of fighting you two."

"Like hell!" Naruto yelled. "I'm not gonna let you harm my friends, dattebayou!"

Sasuke nodded.

"Very well... Have it your way." Haku responded before jumping back and unleashed a handful of senbon at them. Sasuke and Naruto split apart before rushing at the other boy.

The others watched and were sometimes forced to seperate due to either Zabuza or Haku attempting to launch an attack at them, they were also surprised at how strong Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura truly were. It was no wonder they were promoted. However, their awe soon turned to worry as Sakura started to wear down against Zabuza and the man was starting to get an edge over her.

The man made seals. "Suiton: Water Prison!"

Sakura's eyes widened. She tried to dodge in time, but one of the man's mizu bunshin caught her and suddenly the large bubble of water formed around her. She sucked in air just before it closed around her. Thanks to her training, she was capable of holding her breath for a long time, so she had no worries of drowning, besides, the man wouldn't let her even if she did run out of air.

"No!" Neji yelled.

Hinata's eyes widened. "Th-that's..."

Just about that time, Naruto and Sasuke yelled simultaneously.

They all turned to see Haku's Kekkei Genkai activate and the Crystal Ice Mirrors enveloped them like a cage.

"That's what was different about their chakra!" Neji called, feeling foolish that he hadn't noticed. "They have a Kekkei Genkai."

Inside of the dome, Haku, Naruto, and Sasuke held a short conversation. "How are you going to fool your friends?"

"Sasuke will project the illusion that we're living pincushions-his sharingan is stronger than Neji's byakugan so the others won't see through it-and you shatter the mirrors and deal the quote 'final' blow, putting us in that stasis death. Actually, a few real senbons in us won't be a bad idea, just so we'll yell out and make them believe we're getting hit."

Haku nodded. "As you wish."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, thanks to Haku's multiple images, senbon needles struck them in various places, avoiding all vital areas and only hitting them in minor places.

"Augh!" Both of them cried. Sasuke's eyes flashed and suddenly, they appeared to look as if they had senbon sticking out of them everywhere. They continued to cry out in supposed 'pain' for several moments before Haku's mirrors shattered and everyone gasped at the vision projected before them. Haku drew back and released two senbon, each of them piercing Sasuke and Naruto in the neck. Making gurgling noises, their eyes rolled back and they collapsed to the ground, passing out and ceasing to breathe thanks to Haku hitting the main point dead on.

"No!" Cried Ino, Hinata, and Kiba.

"..." They turned once again to see Sakura's horrified expression. She began thrashing in the water, bubbles of air escaping her for a long while before she just went still, her eyes turning glossy and her body quit thrashing and she just floated up to the top of the sphere.

"Well, that wasn't much of a challenge at all. Good work, Haku." Zabuza praised, smirking behind the bandages around his face.

"Yes, Zabuza-sama." Haku replied.

All of the others looked between Sasuke and Naruto's still forms, to Sakura's, a chill of dread going through them.

"Now then. That's out of the way, all that's left to do is hack these brats into pieces." Zabuza dispersed the water around Sakura, her body dropping to the ground lifelessly.

Neji took a stance. "We can't get away from them, so we'll have to fight. Hinata, take Ino, Kiba, Chouji, and Lee and take the boy on. Shikamaru, Shino, Tenten, back me up against Zabuza."

Hinata nodded, a little insecure, but did her best not to show her fear. "R-right!"

"Be careful. These enemies are stronger and better than us, but if we can hold out long enough, they'll wear down and we'll have the advantage." Neji spoke again.

"Hah, not likely, brat. Take this! Suiton: Water dragon jutsu!"

Neji's eyes narrowed at the dragon. Hinata rushed forward to her cousin. They looked to one another before nodding. They timed it and just as the dragon arced towards everyone, they moved.

"Large Rotation!"

"Protection of the 64 palms!"

Neji began spinning, his chakra widening out to create a large dome-wall and Hinata began to spin as well, chakra gathered at her hands as she began moving them quickly in 360 degree angles, creating large streaks of chakra.

The dragon crashed headlong into their defense and you could hear the large roar from it and Neji and Hinata let out yells themselves at the sheer force of chakra versus water infused chakra.

Haku launched an assault upon the remaining genin standing with a spray of senbon. They were forced to jump apart.

"No, we can't get seperated. They'll pick us off one by one." Shino called and the others regrouped as one again.

"Go, Chouji!" Ino ordered. The heavier set boy nodded and made the seal and grew large from his expansion jutsu before tucking his limbs in and began to roll at high speed for Haku. "Expansion: Nikudan Sensha!"

Haku's eyes widened and he was forced to do a series of jumps and flips in order to dodge Chouji and stay a few steps ahead of him. Just as he went to jump again, his mind went blank.

_'Gotcha!'_ Ino cheered inside of his mind. He tried to struggle, but nothing happened. Ino jumped inside of Haku's body and dodged to the side just before Chouji ran him/her over. "It's okay, Chouji!" She called through his body.

Chouji came out of his jutsu and stood there.

"Shikamaru," Ino said, turning to Shikamaru.

"Yare, yare... Mendoukusai." Shikamaru replied before making the seal with his hands. "Kagemane no jutsu!"

Ino left Haku's mind just as Shikamaru's shadow attached to Haku's body.

"Shino, use your kikaichuu." Shikamaru said through gritted teeth as immediately, Haku began struggling against his jutsu.

Shino nodded, and immediately a swarm of his kikaichuu flew out and attached themselves to Haku's body and began to drain him of chakra.

Hinata and Neji's simultaneous cries had the rest of them turning to see Neji and Hinata fly back as the force of the others chakra broke through their defense. They stood back up, soaking wet and somewhat damaged from the lessened force of Zabuza's water dragon. Lee immediately jumped into action, rushing the man and began throwing punches and kicks at him in a flurry of speed.

The man was hard pressed to dodge each one, bringing his Gillotine sword up to block the hits before he took a hard swing at the boy, who ducked it easily, swinging his leg up into the man's stomach and launched him into the air. Lee jumped up after him, loosening the ties of his bandages before they encompased the man's body. He grabbed onto him and they began to spin into a fast dive.

"Omote Renge!"

They crashed into the ground, Lee springing back out of the crater with ease.

"Zabuza-sama!" Haku cried loudly. With renewed effort, Haku fought against Shikamaru's jutsu.

"I can't hold him much longer," Shikamaru mumbled, sweating with effort.

"Let him go, we can handle him. Tenten," Neji said.

The girl nodded. "I got it." She took out a scroll and began to unravel it. "Rising dragon!"

A hailstorm of various weapons burst forth just as Shikamaru broke the jutsu free and flew directly for Haku.

Dispersing a large bout of chakra, Shino's kikaichuu detatched themselves from him and he threw senbon back at the large group of weapons, succeeding in knocking quite a few of them away before he was forced to do a series of backflips to avoid the rest of the weapons.

"Ngh! Darn." Tenten grunted before she tugged the ninja wire and chakra strings and the weapons that had veered off course straightened and began to once again chase Haku.

Hinata launched herself forward once the weapons found themselves imbedded in trees as Haku jumped into them. She followed after him, jumping from limb to limb, her Byakugan keeping track of him easily this time since he had slowed down some, thanks to their combination of attacks.

Zabuza had climbed out of the crater and stood back up, pulling his Gillotine sword with him. _'They're pretty good. But there's still some major flaws in their supposed teamwork. They're also very distractable and can't quite handle a two-sided attack, but they're faring rather well considering they lost their supposed leaders, so their morale is down, but they don't seem to be panicking...yet.'_

He got an evil grin. He quickly formed the seals and a large fog of mist rolled in, hindering everyone's view except Hinata and Neji's.

"Where are they?" Kiba yelled.

"Oh, no." Ino said.

"This isn't good..." Chouji mumbled.

Even Shikamaru was having a hard time staying calm and under control. His nerves were on high and he was shaking a little. He took a breath. "Stay calm. Neji, where is Hinata?"

"She's still in the trees chasing down the other."

"Where is the other enemy?"

Before Neji could reply, Zabuza appeared behind them all. "Right here."

Ino screamed and before anyone could react, they were all blown back by the flat side of Zabuza's sword and were sent flying.

Neji and Shikamaru managed to recover in midair, but the others weren't so lucky. Chouji crashed into a tree, Lee hit the ground at an odd angle, Ino passed out in mid-air and landed almost harmlessly in the grass and Shino landed beside her and Tenten also hit a tree, hitting her head on a branch.

"She's okay," Neji responded when Shino began to look Ino over.

"Oww..." Tenten mumbled as she got up. She staggered around, trying to right herself. "I'm dizzy..."

Chouji pulled himself out of the tree, a huge indent being left behind.

There was another scream and Hinata was sent crashing to the ground.

"Hinata!" Kiba and Neji yelled.

"I-I'm okay... I'm okay..." She said as she sat back up.

Haku jumped down. "You fight well. I am impressed."

Hinata got back into a stance. "This isn't over!" She charged chakra to her fist and Neji's eyes widened as he recognized the attack.

"Hyaaaahhh! Gaia crusher!"

The earth arced up into large pillars and the ground split when Hinata punched through it, a large dome of earth completely enveloped Haku.

Zabuza's eyes widened. _'So this is their potential they tap into when they're hard pressed... Well, then. I guess I'll turn up the heat.'_

Making one handed seals, four Mizu bunshin sprang up and began to attack the rest of the group.

"Defensive formations!" Neji yelled as he began to spin again, completely blocking one of the bunshin's attack against him with his rotation.

"Gotsuuga!" Kiba yelled as he and Akamaru charged one bunshin before it could attack.

Hinata's eyes saw through the earth dome and could see Haku trying desperately to get out. She charged more energy to her fist. She reared back and struck completely through the dome, the earth cracking once more before caving in on itself.

Out of the rubble, however, Haku emerged, blood seeping from his mouth and one of his arms had been crushed from the debris. "You are very strong," He said softly. "You have earned my respect."

Hinata stared for a moment, the compassion in her heart welling up. "Will you... Will you stop fighting? I don't want to hurt you more. You're already wearing down. If you are to continue, I cannot guarantee you'll survive."

"You shouldn't show sympathy to your enemy," Haku said softly, all with a smile behind the mask. "However, I cannot stop. So long as Zabuza-sama lives and breathes, I will continue to fight for him. I am a Shinobi, if I must, I will cut all compassion in my heart off and crush you all."

Hinata shook her head. "I am sorry... If it has to come to this, then..." She got into one last stance, this one different from the others, it was the true stance of the Jyuuken. "Let me be the one to finish it."

Haku got into his own stance, drawing senbon between each finger, other arm dnagling uselessly at his side. "Very well. Let us finish this."

They charged for one another.

Meanwhile, the others were faring poorly against the mizu bunshin and Zabuza.

Tenten had been completely rendered useless as she'd run out of all of her weapons and not being as good in hand-to-hand she got knocked out fairly quickly by a hard bash to the head from the blunt side of one of the clone's swords.

Ino had recovered, only to realize she was out of her league as she rejoined the fight. All of her genjutsu were rendered useless and she couldn't get her mind-body control jutsu to hit, leaving her wide open. She had to settle for hand-to-hand and found out fast she just wasn't strong enough to hold the bunshin back.

Shino had his hands full covering Kiba to help elsewhere, sending his kikaichuu out to break off the bunshin's attacks as Kiba and Akamaru charged and threw their kunai, even picking up weapons that Tenten dropped to throw at him before performing their Gotsuuga again.

Shikamaru and Chouji were holding back the real Zabuza and Neji was fighting the last clone.

"Eight Trigrams: Air palm!" Neji yelled as he thrust his palm forward, a gust of wind hitting the clone, dispersing it into a puddle of water.

_'Well, that one's got serious potential... He's powerful, intuative, and can see through my bunshins. Hm... And the girl that's taking on Haku... She's got some spunk. A little on the weaker side compared to this one, but if she's holding her own against Haku, she could be very powerful, indeed.'_ Zabuza thought to himself as he dodged yet another attack from Chouji. He went to counter-swing, but found he couldn't move.

"Kagemane: Shadow Stitch, success." Shikamaru called, standing up and scratching the back of his head. "I'm tired..." He looked around and found various senbon, kunai, and shuriken embedded to his shadow, holding him in place. 'This one's extremely smart, very crafty and clever, but...extremely laid back and lazy.'

"Now, Chouji." Shikamaru yawned. Chouji enlarged himself again and with a large clap, practically squashed the man flat. Zabuza grunted in a fair amount of pain, the other bunshin dispersing.

"Well, you're pretty good. But this isn't over... We'll be back. Haku, let's go."

Haku pulled out of his stance and nodded. "Yes, Zabuza-sama." Together, they disappeared in a splash of water, leaving only puddles behind.

Ino collapsed to her knees, panting. "Whew... I thought we were gonna die."

At the word die, as if remembering, they all scattered in directions to see Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura.

Hinata and Neji collapsed by Sakura's body, checking her over. Her chakra network appeared to be shut off, her body was still and unmoving. Neji checked her pulse, there was none.

"No..." Neji breathed.

Hinata placed her hands over the girl's heart and gathered chakra to her hands. Pushing down, she gave a jolt to the girl's heart. Sakura's body jolted, but then remained motionless. Hinata did it again, and again a few times before she removed her hands and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Neji-niisan... I tried..." She said in a hurt voice.

Neji could only stare. Somehow it felt like a piece of his heart had been ripped out at the knowledge that Sakura was dead. To see it before his eyes, to not be able to do anything at all to revive her; it hurt. It hurt him deeply. He deactivated his Byakugan and closed his eyes. Foreign emotion encased him and he suddenly felt a deep sorrow settle into his chest, threatening to knock the wind out of him.

Hinata placed her hand on her cousin's shoulder, sharing in his look of heart-brokenness. Neji's hand slowly rose and shakingly took hers and they sat there like that in silence.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino wailed, weeping openly. Shikamaru could only stand there numbly. A cold chill had wrapped itself around him, his breathing coming in laboured as he fought off the urge to scream. No, this couldn't be happening, it really couldn't be happening. Sasuke, his Sasuke was dead right before his eyes and he was helpless.

"Naruto... You idiot. You always had to be the first one to jump into shit headlong, didn't you?" Kiba mumbled bitterly. Shino, however, saw the single tear that managed to slip its way down the Inuzuka's face. Neji and Hinata revived Tenten and even the girl looked solomn at their loss. Lee had his head bent, unable to even say something to comfort his friends.

"What now?" Asked Chouji.

"We abort the mission," Neji answered. "There's no way we can complete it now. We must return to Konoha and tell the Hokage."

"But, what about their bodies?" Tenten asked.

"We can't carry them, they're too heavy for us and will only hinder our speed if we did. We need to go, before that man and his sidekick return." Neji said firmly.

Hesitantly, they all nodded in agreement.

Taking one last look at their fallen comrades, they began to run back in the direction of Konoha.

Haku and Zabuza reappeared on the scene. Haku went over and slowly revived Naruto and Sasuke. Zabuza gave a tap to the girl, jostling her body again. "Come on, girl. It's over."

Slowly, Sakura's body twitched and seconds later she sat upright, eyes flinging wide open before she spat out a lungful of water, taking in a deep breath. "Goddamn it, that hurt. Remind me never to push myself into possum mode after inhaling a lungful of water." She coughed.

"I do feel bad, fooling them." Naruto said, wincing as he rubbed his neck where Haku pierced him and began picking out the senbon needles.

Sasuke nodded. "It's necessary though, they need to learn about death and loss like we have. They need to learn to survive." He dispelled the genjutsu that made them look like pincushions and rubbed his eyes. It had taken a lot of effort to keep his sharingan inactive after casting said genjutsu.

"Thanks, guys." Sakura said to Zabuza and Haku.

"Heh, well, we did owe you." Zabuza replied with a shrug, crossing his arms.

"That girl... She is very strong. She holds a very caring heart." Haku said.

"Hinata? Yeah, she does. I've been helping her train to gain confidance. I also taught her plenty of my own jutsu."

"Ah, so that is where that jutsu came from, then." Haku replied with a light smile. "I was impressed by it."

Standing up, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto dusted themselves off. "We should catch up to them and execute our next phase. You two should hide out of sight again until we can contact you once more." Sasuke spoke.

"Very well." Haku responded, looking to Zabuza.

"Hmph. Fine. You brats owe us now, though."

Naruto smirked. "Okay."

"First, let me heal your arm, Haku." Sakura said, before going over to the boy and healed his crushed arm. She looked over Zabuza and healed the minor damage he'd gotten from Lee's Omote Renge and Chouji's Expansion jutsu hit.

The two disappeared again after that and the three looked between themselves before running after the others.

The others were jumping from tree to tree, some just running underneath after them. They got about thirty miles before they just...crashed.

"Wha-?" Everyone said, either to themselves or outloud.

Neji activated his Byakugan and looked around. He saw nothing. Approaching forward again, he ran straight into...something.

"What is it, Neji?" Hinata asked.

"I can't see anything, Hinata-sama. It's like there's an invisible wall here, but I can't see anything."

"Well, it must be a genjutsu, then!" Ino said. She placed her hands together in a seal, channeling her chakra to herself. "Kai!"

There was silence. Neji tried again, placing his hands forward. They met wall. "No, it's still there."

"Let me try shattering it!" Lee said. He sprang forward, aiming a kick right at the area Neji was at. Like before he just bounced off and fell back. "Oof!"

"You dummy, you should think before you do reckless things!" Tenten scoffed.

Shikamaru thought carefully. "We should follow the wall and see the dimensions of it. We need to know if it's a box, a wall, or something else."

Shino released his kikaichuu and they were able to fly past the boundaries of the supposed wall.

"They sense an immense chakra flucctuation right where you're standing, Neji. However, I am unable to identify what it is. It is possible this is a jutsu of some kind."

"A trap?" Kiba asked.

"It is possible." Shino answered.

"Let's follow the wall like Shikamaru suggested," Hinata said.

Putting his hand on the 'wall', Neji began to walk.

It took them a half hour but they found that the wall was...actually a box. A fairly big box. They tried going above it, but it was closed in from there, too. Kiba and Akamaru tried going under it with their Gotsuuga and failed as well.

"It looks like whoever wants us here is trying everything to keep us here." Neji stated, all with a frustrated expression on.

Not too far off, masking their presense was Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

"You got that right," Sasuke mumbled with a snicker.

"So, tell me again _why_ we're in the Tsukuyomi?" Naruto asked.

"It's a matter of letting them learn their boundaries and where they can and can't go. They'll go a couple of supposed 'days' here within the Tsukuyomi until they start believing they can't get out, til they start believing there's actually a line there. Once they've learned that, I'll release the Tsukuyomi, by then, they won't think about trying to get past the boundary just yet." Sasuke responded.

Sakura leaned forwards excitedly from where she was sitting on a branch. "Right! And we'll be here to observe what they do and how they progress. As they grow, we'll expand the 'wall' until they can completely make it home."

"Oh," Naruto said. "That's pretty much genius, Sakura. You're awesome!"

Sakura giggled. "Thanks, I try."

Back with the group, a couple of days past and they finally realized that the line would be there until they could find a way to do something about it. There was enough space for them to hunt, train, do anything they wished almost, but still small enough to feel like caged birds. Once they all sat down together and began to think of ways to get past the wall, Sasuke released the Tsukuyomi he had on everyone without them realizing.

"Do you think it's a trap from that guy and his partner?" Lee asked.

"Hmm... No, I don't think so. It's too elaborate for them, I believe. Though they did say they'd be back, us being stuck here doesn't help matters." Neji answered.

"Animals and insects can cross freely without worry. I wonder if it's because of our chakra?" Hinata asked.

"Possibly," Shino said, adjusting his sunglasses.

"Well it's not as if we can turn it off!" Ino responded.

"I don't have hardly any chakra, Ino-chan. You would think it would exclude me, then." Lee responded.

"Hmm... That is true," Tenten said thoughtfully. She stood up and threw a shuriken at the wall and it went right through. "Weapons, too."

"Jutsu?" Chouji asked.

"Tried it already," Shikamaru mumbled lazily. "Only certain ones. Any physical jutsu like Chouji's Nikudan Sensha is useless. Things like my shadows can pass right through it."

There was silence for a long while between everyone.

"So, basically what you're saying is: we're fucked." Kiba said flatly.

"Basically."

"Well, shit."

**TBC**


	19. Chapter 15

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC: **Ahh, new chapter. It's not as long as the last, but it's something, ne? I hope you all enjoy it. Hopefully it will give you readers some more stuff to think about and mull over about what I'm going to be doing next! -grins- Thanks for sticking with me, people, I do appreciate it. Thanks to all the kind reviews, and thank you to the newcomers who joined the bandwagon. It means so much to me, all of your comments, favorites, and watches. It lets me know at least my work is interesting! Anyway, enough babbling from me, read on!

* * *

"Do you think you can do that, Kurenai-sensei?" Sakura asked of the woman as they stood behind the scenes and watched the group progress. Sasuke and Naruto were off with the other Jounin sensei at the other groups. It had been two weeks since they first trapped the group and little progress had been made.

"Who do you think you're talking to," Kurenai answered, a smirk on her lips. "I am the Genjutsu expert."

Sakura grinned do. "Thanks."

Nodding, the woman turned wordlessly, bringing her hands together in a seal. Immediately, the world around them shimmered without the others noticing.

Neji and Hinata were training together, Shikamaru was sitting back against a tree, looking at the sky dazedly, all with a somewhat hollow expression to his face rather than his usual bored one. Chouji was beside him, munching on one of his seemingly endless-supply of chips. Ino was sighing every few moments, elbows resting on her knees from where she sat back-to-back with Shino, staring idly out at nothing, not even bothering to squeal or jerk anymore when the others kikaichuu decided to crawl on her. She'd become too used to it by now to care.

Kiba was pacing around anxiously with Akamaru and Tenten was sharpening what weapons she had left boredly, and Lee was training against a tree. Each and every one of them were bored beyond their wits and wanting to go home. They were also heavy-laden with the burden of knowing three of their comrades were dead because they tried to protect them.

"Dammit!" Kiba finally growled, his expression morphing to a near feral one as his pacing became more and more agressive.

"It's hopeless," Ino moaned, dropping her head onto her arms.

Before any of the others could respond, there was a rustling coming from the bushes to the right from a small distance off. Everyone stopped what they were doing at the noise and jumped into a stance. They were all very tense and silent.

The bushes rustled some more, the sound of shuffling coming close. Then...

Neji and Hinata's eyes widened.

Sakura stumbled through the bushes, clutching one arm, one eye sealed shut from blood, there were kunai sticking out of her chest and she was dragging one leg.

"S-Sakura? How? I thought you were..." Ino breathed.

Sakura looked at them, her eyes looked dead. "You left me..."

"What?" Tenten asked.

"You left me behind..."

"Sakura, you're alive!"

"You left me behind to die..."

"No! Something's not right!" Neji yelled, getting into his Jyuuken stance. "This isn't Sakura!"

Sakura's head turned towards the other. "How can you say that...? I thought we were friends... But you left me to die..."

"You were dead!" Hinata cried, tears welling to her eyes.

Kiba's nose curled. "It smells like rotting flesh."

Shino's brow twitched a second. "My Kikaichuu are detecting no life from her..."

Sakura slowly pulled her gloves on. "You all left me behind to die... So I will make sure you die, too."

Just at that moment, there was more rustling from around them.

A figure jumped down.

A torn up looking Naruto landed, kunai and shuriken embedded in his chest and through his shoulder and knees, but somehow he managed to move despite that. His eyes, too, were dead. When he opened his mouth, blood poured out.

"You all must die..."

"N-Naruto!" Hinata cried out, tears falling down her face. Akamaru growled lowly in response, and Lee shook his head.

"I will not be fooled by your trickery!"

"You all will die for leaving us behind..." Came another voice.

Shikamaru whipped around to see a half-way decayed Sasuke appear, various weapons sticking out of his back and senbon littered through what flesh he had left. His left eye was missing and the other eye, the Sharingan activated.

"Wh-what?" Ino squeaked.

"Didn't they say...never leave your comrades behind...?" Sakura asked as she pulled one of the kunai from her chest, blood immediately beginning to pool down from the wound as if it were fresh before gripping it tightly in her hand. "Now you'll face your retrobution for leaving us behind."

"Nooooo!" Ino wailed.

Hinata collapsed to her knees, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

Kiba snarled in response.

Everyone but one flinched when Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke immediately charged for them.

Ino's scream echoed throughout the forest.

"Kai."

Just before the three could strike, the area around them shimmered before they dissolved away into thin air.

Everyone looked to Shino.

"It was improbable for them to be ressurected, even in that sense without a Kinjutsu. I had wondered at seeing Sakura, but the appearance of the other two only confirmed it. It had to be a genjutsu." The Aburame said quietly, adjusting his sunglasses before sticking his hands in his coat pockets.

Neji frowned. "I should have seen through it, though."

Hinata wiped her tears away.

"Not unless the Genjutsu caster is stronger than your doujutsu, Neji." Shino answered again. "This ruthlessness, the way the genjutsu was weaved..." They frowned deeply.

Hinata stood back up with Neji's help and closed her eyes.

Shikamaru was shaking visibly to the others. His eyes were slowly going cold and dark, everyone could see the turmoil in them.

Kiba sniffed again. "You're right, Shino. The feel of it was...familiar."

Shino frowned again. "It couldn't be Kurenai-sensei's. How would she know we were here?"

Neji then looked thoughtful. "Unless this was a setup from the start."

"W-what do you mean?" Ino asked.

"What if this was all set up so that this would happen?" Neji elaborated.

"What would happen?" Lee asked.

"What if this mission was a coverup to this?"

"No way! We saw Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke die right before our eyes and even checked them ourselves! How could their deaths be planned?" Kiba argued.

Neji then fell silent.

"What if there was a spy in Konoha?" Shikamaru suddenly asked. "What if someone sabotaged this mission, killed them, and are toying with us?"

"Why would someone do such a thing?" Ino cried.

Tenten frowned. "Especially to a group of genin?"

"Because we have information. We're genin, weak, just barely out of the academy; but we still have information, all of us. They could have isolated us for this reason, waiting for us to break before prying the information out of us." Shino replied.

Everyone was silent as they contemplated Shino's words.

"It still doesn't add up, though." Neji responded with a frown. "Why go to such lengths for that? And besides," He looked to Hinata, who seemed to be catching on.

"It... It doesn't seem right that Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto would fall so easily..." Hinata said softly.

"You think it was all staged?" Chouji asked.

"I don't know," Neji answered. "But it just...doesn't seem probable that they'd go down that easy, even against such opponents. There's something we're missing."

"We need to find a way out of this box, first." Lee said with a small frown of his own.  
A bit ways away, Kurenai and Sakura watched them.

"What do you think, Kurenai-sensei?"

"I think they're thinking rationally now that they've had time to mull things over. I am surprised that Shino figured it out so fast that it was me casting the jutsu."

Sakura nodded. "We have underestimated them somewhat in their abilities. For that, I feel a little bad because I'd forgotten just how smart they all were when put together."

"Forgotten?" Kurenai asked curiously.

Sakura immediately realized her slip. "I mean, they're all smart in their groups, right? I'd thought there'd be discord and turmoil if they were forced to work in different groups. But I figured they'd be more comfortable with their team being there, but having to work with other teams, too. I'd forgotten how smart they were because I've been so concentrated on my own knowledge. I feel a little foolish now." She covered.

Kurenai took the cover and nodded slowly. "You're very smart, Sakura. But you must also concentrate on those you're charged with. It's something I've been struggling with, as well. Being a sensei to these students is much different than being an Anbu for me. It's a new experience. I have to remember not to think like one."

Sakura nodded in understanding. "And I'm still used to thinking like a Genin... I'm still mostly aware of only myself, I need to learn to expand my thoughts to include everyone."

The older woman nodded before they turned their gaze back to the group.  
"We need to find a way to break through this jutsu. At our current levels, we wouldn't even be able to even waver it. We must get stronger." Neji said. "We need to train rigorously. Who knows what may await us when we do get past this barrier."

There was a chorus of nods and agreement. Lee immediately leaped up and began to train once more, all with Tenten and Neji shaking their heads in exasperation.

Soon, everyone paired up to train. Neji and Hinata continued to train against one another, Chouji and Shikamaru, Tenten and Kiba, leaving Shino and Ino to train together, with Lee training by himself.

"I won't go easy, Ino-chan..." Shino warned quietly.

The girl hmphed and grinned haughtily. "I could say the same thing to you!"

They began to train and for the first three rounds, Ino lost horribly to Shino's Kikaichuu and taijutsu.

"I'm gonna win this time!" Ino cried as she formed seals. "Take this! Yamanaka Family Jutsu: Mind-Body Disrruption!"  
Charging chakra to her body, she dashed forward. Shino did not expect a direct attack and was slow in moving to block the move. Ino struck him with a kick to the chest, sending him backwards.

"Ha-ha! I got this one in the bag!" She cried victoriously.

Shino just stood there. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes were widened. He tried to speak, tried to move, but he found nothing was working. He could only just stand there and breathe, he couldn't even blink, nothing in his body was responding.

"You're probably wondering what's going on. It's simple. I disrrupted the communication between your body and your mind. Everything is now mixed up in your mind. It'll keep sending mixed up pulses to your body until I release the jutsu!" She explained.

"..." Shino couldn't respond, but his mind was already working at a fast rate to figure out a counter to her move. If his body wouldn't respond...

Ino was just standing there smugly before all of Shino's kikaichuu released themselves from his body and swarmed around, creating a bug-clone of him.

"What?" She cried.

"You disrrupted the signals to my body, but not to my kikaichuu. You're clever, but you forgot one important factor. That was a fatal mistake." The clone spoke.

The clone got into a stance, Ino charged for them.

'If I can just distract her concentration enough... Her jutsu should release me.' Shino thought as he kept directing his actions through the clone.

The clone dodged her punch, grabbing her arm as he twisted around with her and delivered her a swift kick to the back, sending her staggering forward. She whirled around, launching a handful of kunai at him. He jumped to avoid most of them, not able to risk the chance of getting hit. He countered by sending sending out a fair amount of kikai and they created what was like a mini tornadow by the way they proceeded to spin like a dervish, knocking Ino back when they slammed into her from the extra force they produced.

"Ngh!" Ino cried, pushing back with her chakra, breaking through the mass of insects. She couldn't risk using any other of her family jutsu, they left her too wide open if she missed. She couldn't use genjutsu, since the kikai would agitate Shino's chakra for him to allow him to escape, that left taijutsu as her only option.

She had to be crafty. She had to think. She flipped away from another swarm of Kikaichuu and tried to devise a plan. She had to get crazy in order to win, she had to risk things. Suddenly, a vision of Naruto appeared in her mind and his determined eyes. She had to think crazy like Naruto.

_'Okay, Naruto... Just this once.'_ She thought before she nodded to herself.

"I'm gonna win!" She cried before she grabbed a handful of shuriken from her pouch in each hand and got into a stance.

_'Her concentration hasn't wavered at all... She's serious this time. I've got to be on guard.'_ Shino thought to himself as he got into a stance as well.

_'Now!'_ Cried a voice in Ino's head and she threw the shuriken in one hand with all her might, watching as they sailed through the air and arced towards the Aburame. Not wasting another second of precious time, she burst into speed towards the other. Before she reached him, she flipped up and over him, throwing out her other handful of shuriken.

"...!" Shino realized one second too late that the first round of shuriken were decoys and could only watch as chakra lines appeared all around him. One move, and they'd activate, trapping all of his limbs.

"Not done yet!" Ino said proudly before she threw down a smoke bomb.

Smoke surrounded the area and when it cleared, there were six Ino's surrounding him.  
_'Kage-bunshin? No... Ino can't have learned that. They have to be regular bunshin.'_

All of the Ino's let out battle cries before charging for him. The only thing he could do in response was make his kikai swarm out like a defensive barrier. At once, all of the Ino's passed through him and dispersed.

_'None of them were real? Then...!'_ He tried to move to see, lapsing for a moment in realizing he was still trapped and triggered the chakra strings. They bound him up tight and all around him, paper bombs went off.

"Kyyaaahhhh!" Ino cried as she came barrelling through the smoke and landed a chakra-enhanced uppercut to the clone.

"Agh!" The clone cried before dispersing into his kikai.

"Game, set, and match!" Ino said, dusting her hands off and putting them on her hips. She turned to the real Shino before making a seal. "Release!"

The distortion between his mind and body was released and he staggered for a second to regain his bearings, bringing a hand up to adjust his sunglasses, other hand going into his pocket.

"Clever," Was all he managed to say.

She smirked triumphantly. "I kinda went out on a limb there."

Shino nodded. "You surprised me."

"I told myself: Think like Naruto. Do you think he'd be proud?"

"He'd be impressed, if not proud."

"Hell yeah!" Naruto cheered, he and Sasuke had appeared to take Kurenai and Sakura's place.

"Urusai, dobe." Sasuke replied, the smallest hints of a smirk appearing on his face. The other stuck his tongue out at him and flipped him the bird in response.

"Ino is the weakest of the rest of the group, she's gonna need the most training. But, she's already showing improvement if she's learning to take more risks." Sasuke said thoughtfully after a long moment, a contemplative expression on.

"Well, Shino isn't exactly the strongest to train against, but yeah, if she managed to outwit him the fourth time around, then yeah, she's showing some improvement." Naruto responded with a grin.

"Tch."

Neji and Hinata were at a standstill with their training, neither could really get the advantage for long before the other found a way around their attacks. They both stopped, panting heavily.

"You've really improved, Hinata-sama." Neji said as he pulled out of his Jyuuken stance.

"I...Thank you, Neji-niisan. Sakura showed me a lot..." She replied, looking a little sullen at the mentioning of Sakura. Neji stilled as well, the vision of her death and lifeless body floating through their minds.

Neji's fists tightened. "That's why we must get stronger, Hinata-sama. We must get stronger for Sakura. So that we can protect the others so we won't have to see another death."

Hinata met her cousin's eyes boldly, the glint in her off-white eyes turning to determination. "Hai."

"Ikuzo." Neji motioned, dropping back down into a stance.

Nodding, Hinata dashed straight for him in response.

Kiba and Tenten were training in hand-to-hand to strengthen Tenten's fighting abilities. She couldn't use any of her weapons save just kunai and shuriken and nothing more. She was faring terrible at keeping up with Kiba and Akamaru's speed.

"Tenten, you need to focus for a second. Look at the way I move, watch my stance, my feet, and my hands. You need to learn to read your opponent from how fast they can move. If your eyes can't keep up, rely on your other senses." Kiba said as he caught a kunai she'd thrown at him from midair.

She nodded slowly. "Okay, I'll try it out!"

"Alright, here we come!" Kiba cried as he made a mad dash for her on all fours. Tenten crouched down a little, her eyes darting back and forth as she tried to keep up with the way he made zig-zag motions around the trees, jumping back and forth between them. She grabbed two kunai, one in each hand, before lowering her eyes to the ground. Light flooded down from the tops of the trees into the forest and there, she saw Kiba's shadow darting a few feet infront of her. She raised her head just as she saw the flash of his hand hit the ground.

She pulled her kunai up and crossed them, pushing her weight into them just as Kiba came flying straight at her. He hit the kunai and Tenten dug her heels into the ground, locking her ankles in place as she did her best to hold the Inuzuka back.

"Now, Akamaru!" Kiba yelled.

Tenten's eyes once again scanned the ground, she saw light blot out just slightly behind her, the shadow casting an elongated formation. She twisted on one heel, bringing her leg up. She leaned all her weight onto the Kunai, relying on the fact Kiba was still there and used the momentum to send a kick out, feeling the heel of her sandal connect with something.

"Aooroo!" Akamaru yelped as the puppy went flying back, only to smack into a tree.

"Akamaru!" Kiba cried, before snarling. He leapt away, sending the girl off balance before he charged again at her. Tenten could see it coming,

Kiba's speed was down thanks to his anger. She ducked low and swung her leg around, channeling chakra around her. "Konoha Senpuu!"

With a swirl of leaves, Tenten's foot met Kiba's face and sent the Inuzuka flying back to hit a tree as well. "Arugh!"

Tenten straightened up. "Are you alright, Kiba?"

Kiba pulled himself out of the tree, dusting the splinters off of his coat before sniffing. "Not bad," He said with a small grin. "Akamaru, are you okay?"

The small puppy let out a yip, stumbling his way over to his master. Kiba picked the puppy up and put him in his coat. "You can rest now, buddy. You deserved it. Thanks a lot."

"Arf!" Akamaru responded.

"Am I getting a little better?" Tenten asked.

"Yeah, you're pretty good at using the situations to your advantage. I think if you put more power behind your hits and built your speed up, you'd be really good."

Tenten blushed the slightest. "Maybe relying on my weapons so much is the reason I'm lacking in taijutsu... I should begin working on figuring out a plan to enhance these qualities to even it out."

"I'll help ya if you want. Speed is my kind of thing. As for power, I'm sure if you asked Neji or Lee to help you, they would."

Tenten nodded. "Yeah, I could use the help. Thanks."

"No problem!"

"Saa... Mendoukusai." Shikamaru mumbled as he flopped backwards from where he'd been sitting.

Chouji sighed heavily. "You're not even trying, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru sighed heavily. "I just..."

Chouji sat beside his friend, frowning. "It's because of Sasuke being gone, isn't it?"

"What's the point in existing even when you know the one person you know you can ever love is gone? Why try, when you feel like all of your strength is gone, and you feel as if it takes every effort of your energy to keep your heart beating...?" Shikamaru responded, his eyes looking dead as he gazed up at the clouds through the trees.

"Shikamaru..." Chouji responded, looking down at the ground, unable to find any words to say that would help console his friend.

Sasuke's heart squeezed and he looked away, clenching his fist. "He's really going to hate me when he finds out we're still alive..."

"Then go to him, Sasuke." Naruto responded, frowning.

"You know we can't, Naruto."

"Bullshit. We made the rules, we can break 'em. Use a genjutsu, your sharingan, ANYTHING to let him know you're okay. He may be angry at first, but once he figures it all out, he'll understand why we did it."

Sasuke looked hesitant, but nodded. Without another word, he leaped down from the tree he was in and began to stealthily creep up towards the site. Activating his Sharingan, he cast a Genjutsu on the rest of the others, shielding himself from their sight.

Shikamaru sighed as he sat up. Just as he did, he saw movement from the corner of his eye. Twisting his head, he saw a flash of blue, red, and white. His eyes widened. He looked around, the others didn't even seem to notice. Strange. Neji should have been the most alert one, but he was still training with Hinata...

Another flash, this time, to the right. He knew he wasn't seeing things.

He stood up.

"Where are you going?" Asked Chouji.

"I'll be back in a few," He waved his hand nonchalantly, but his heart was pounding heavily in his chest.

It could be a trap, his mind said. It could be just his own mind playing tricks on him. It could have been a million things, his mind reasoned, but still, he went after it anyway. If only out of a subliminal hope that maybe...

Once out of sight of the others, he ran. He ran fast and hard, and everywhere he did, there was always a shadow three lengths ahead of him. It was a game they'd played before, a little catch-me-if-you-can type of game with different variations of what the outcome was. He made a seal in his hands, leaping high up into the trees, casting a larger shadow above the other. "Kagemane no jutsu!"

His shadow stretched and reached, running, running...snagged. Hook, line, and sinker. He leaped down from the tree, slowly pulling on the shadow as he walked closer and closer. His eyes widened when he came in sight of the person-or thing-he'd caught.

There, standing infront of him, trapped by the holds of his shadow was Sasuke, his back turned to him, Slowly, the other's head turned and black eyes met his. "So you've caught me again."

Shikamaru could only stand there dumbly. The numb feeling in his chest tightened. This couldn't be right, surely his mind was playing tricks on him. He immediately brought his hands together in a seal. "Kai!"

No, the image didn't disappear. He stared with widened eyes, shadow releasing the other as his hands dropped limply to his sides.

Sasuke turned fully, frowning at the others reaction. "Shikamaru," He said softly.

"You're dead," Shikamaru responded quietly. "You're dead, I saw it with my own eyes. And I...couldn't do anything..."

In a flash of speed, he found the air being forced from his lungs as his back hit a tree. Sasuke was standing infront of him, hands gripping his wrists tightly, staring down into his eyes with a light in them that no genjutsu or corpse could ever posess.  
"Oh Kami, you're real...?" Shikamaru whispered, his eyes wide with surprise.

Sasuke's lips turned slowly into a smile as he gave a nod. "That's right. I'm real. I'm alive."

As he saw Shikamaru's expression turn puzzled, he spoke again. "I'm not dead, because I didn't die. But everyone else was fooled by our little show..." He chuckled softly.

"Show...?"

"Yes."

As Shikamaru thought it out in his mind, Sasuke took the moment to look the other over. He could see upclose just how worn down the other was, the way he sagged against the tree and the dark circles under his eyes. He could feel how his muscles quivered, tense and tight as a springboard. They tightened further when he began to thrash against him, and he could see the fury in the others eyes. Just when Shikamaru went to yell at the other, Sasuke stopped him by crushing their lips together in a kiss.

Shikamaru's body jolted, thrashing several moments more before falling lax against the tree, his nails digging into the bark behind him as the Uchiha wouldn't let his wrists free. Their kiss was fierce, filled with raw fire and agressiveness. Blood was drawn by the time they pulled away, Sasuke's lower lip was broken open by a bite and he swallowed copper from the wound on his tongue.

"Fucking hell, Uchiha. I'll kill you if you ever pull another stunt like that." Shikamaru hissed. "You're so fucking _troublesome_."

"But you love me anyway," Sasuke reminded with a smirk.

"And right now, I wish I didn't because I want to kick your ass."

For some reason, the words stung, and Sasuke backed away, letting the others wrists go. He looked away. "I won't say I'm sorry, because those two words are empty and mean nothing, even if I mean them. And I won't ask you to forgive me, because I know what I did was unforgivable. But I couldn't stand by and watch you kill yourself over my supposed 'death' while the others continue to go on."

Shikamaru saw the immediate change in the others demeanor and bit his lip, wishing he could've taken the words he said back. "Sasuke..."

"No, don't say it. I understand. You're angry at me and you have every right to be. I was being selfish." Sasuke replied.

Shikamaru sighed heavily, once again cursing his lack of maturity when it came to things like this. He stepped closer to the other until they were close again and reached out, taking Sasuke's hand with his own. "You have no idea what you did to me. My heart felt like it was going to stop, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked away. "I know death, Shikamaru. We were trying to teach that to you all, as well. Death happens unexpectedly in our world, whether it's someone you know and love or not. You've got to learn to continue on despite your losses." He murmured.

"I get that now, but still, you have no idea how hurt I felt. Don't do it again." Shikamaru responded, before leaning into the older boy, wrapping his arms around him tightly as if he'd disappear.

"I'm not going anywhere...for a while." Sasuke replied, eyes swirling with the Sharingan for a moment, as he changed the genjutsu the others were in yet again. "Don't worry, the others won't mind... They're in my own little genjutsu. Now that I have you all to myself again, I'm not letting you go until I have to."

"Which is when...?" Shikamaru asked.

"When Kakashi and Asuma take mine and Naruto's place."

"So they're in on this, too...?"

"All of the Jounin sensei are. It's a survival exercise, after all." Sasuke chuckled softly.

"...You're cruel." Shikamaru responded blandly.

"Yes, I'm a sado-masochist who likes to fuck with people's heads, I know. But the real mastermind behind it all is Sakura. If you want to blame someone, blame her." Sasuke replied amusedly.

"I'll blame her just as much as I blame you,"

"Oh, wonderful."

Shikamaru let his head rest against Sasuke's chest, relaxing into his embrace, listening to his heart beat; he kept reassuring himself that this was all real and that his lover was actually alive. But some part of him still could not purge the image of Sasuke's lifeless body lying there on the ground.

They stood there like that for a long while, before Sasuke moved, bringing his hand up to remove the tie in his hair, watching as the locks fell free down to Shikamaru's shoulders. He ran his fingers through it, twisting his fingers through the locks, reveling in the simple feel, something he'd been denied in a long time. "Kami, I've missed you." He whispered.

"Ditto," Shikamaru yawned, leaning into the petting through his hair, feeling his lids lower further and further. Sasuke moved them easily and they sank to the ground, Sasuke's back against a tree and Shikamaru between his legs resting against him.

"Rest, koi. You need it. I'll be here til sundown." Sasuke murmured, continuing to pet and play with the younger boy's hair, smiling at being able to do such a simple thing again. It had been hard to not just say to hell with everything and go steal Shikamaru away for himself again. This moment of reprieve was enough.

"Mmkay..." Shikamaru yawned sleepily, letting his eyes completely close as he pillowed his head on Sasuke's shoulder, hiding his face in their neck. It was mere moments later before his body gave a shudder as it relaxed and he felt their breath even out against his neck. Sasuke just pulled the other closer against him, frowning a little in contemplative thought.

It was going to be hard to stay away now, but he'd have to manage; but he wasn't going to sit by idly as he watched his love dwindle away before his eyes. At least he knew he'd stopped that. He let the thoughts die there for now as he himself slipped into a comfortable daze, content just to stare up with glossy eyes through the trees at the sky. For once, he was sure he saw a cloud in the shape of a crane as it rolled lazily by. That was really the last thing he could remember for a long while before he felt someone shaking him gently.

He yawned, blinking his eyes to see Shikamaru staring at him sleepily, the light now much darker, the sun beginning to set. "You'll have to go soon, won't you?" He asked.

"Yeah..." He answered with a soft frown.

"Will I see you again? Before this course is up?"

Sasuke chewed on his lip. "I don't know. I'll try. That's all I can say. Just...don't let the others know yet, okay?"

Shikamaru sighed but nodded. "Okay."

"Aishiteru," Sasuke whispered, leaning in to plant another kiss on Shikamaru's lips.

"Aishiteru yo." Shikamaru whispered back before pulling away to stand.

They didn't speak again as they stood and seperated. Shikamaru began to walk away, only pausing once he was at the edge of his vision, glancing back, giving the slightest of waves before disappearing completely. Sasuke sighed heavily, feeling his heart drop before he leaped back into the trees and took off back to meet Naruto. Once he made it back and saw that Shikamaru was back in the site, he slowly released the genjutsu and the others continued on as if nothing had happened at all.

"It's about time," Naruto complained. "I thought I was gonna have to come get you."

"Urusai, dobe." Sasuke responded solomnly, shaking his head. At that moment, Kakashi and Asuma appeared.

"Yo," Kakashi greeted.

"Late as always," Naruto commented.

"Yeah, well, Asuma and I got to talking and-"

"Leave me out of it," Asuma responded with a roll of his eyes as he let out a puff of smoke from his cigarette.

"Anyway," Sasuke responded, looking off towards the camp again before looking back to the three. "I'm leaving to go sleep. Wake me up when it's my watch again."

With that, he disappeared in a blur of speed.

"What's gotten into him?" Asuma asked.

Naruto sighed softly. "Loneliness, he has seperation anxiety. He's depressed now after seeing Shikamaru. He couldn't take seeing him kill himself over his supposed death."

"Isn't that against the rules?"

"We made them up," Naruto responded. "We can break 'em. But anyway, he's... He's just in a funk for the moment. He'll come around." He chewed on his own lip, making the whisker marks on his cheeks twitch before he sighed. "As it is, I think I'm in my own depression."

Kakashi frowned slightly behind his mask, but said nothing.

"But anyway! Have fun, you guys. Don't let their snoring get to ya!" The blonde grinned cheekily before making a face at them and disappeared in a flash of red.

"I'm thinking things are getting rather testy lately, ne?" Asuma asked Kakashi, taking another drag of his cigarette.

"You could say that... I think this is grating on their sanity just as much as this test is to the others."

"Hmm... Well, they are just kids still. Their patience is underdeveloped, even if they are advanced for their age."

"I think it's something else, but who am I to take guesses?" Kakashi responded.

"Mm." Asuma replied. They both turned and settled onto the branch to watch the group for the remainder of the night.

**TBC**


	20. Chapter 16

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC: **Bahaha, sorry for the long delay, people. I still don't have internet and I'm in the middle of moving, so maybe, maybe, cross your fingers, I'll get internet in the new house! Anyway, I hope this chapter's good, even though it's still kinda shortish. Rest assured, fans, you're not forgotten!

* * *

Things progressively got better. When everyone noticed Shikamaru's demeanor change, and questioned him, he merely answered that he saw Sasuke and it was okay now. What that meant to any of them, he let them come to their own conclusion and went about his own training.

Ino had been showing progress in her training against Shino. The Aburame was currently teaching her a simple technique to help expand the reach of her ninjutsu. Kiba and Tenten were going through an insanely fast paced regimine they'd developed. She wasn't quite able to keep up with Kiba and Akamaru's speed just yet but she was showing definite improvement in that department.

Neji and Hinata were both growing together at a fairly accelerated rate due to how close they'd become in power and were constantly pushing at one another to find new ways to outwit one another. Chouji had managed to come up with some new ways to use his expansion and nikudan sensha thanks to Shikamaru's focus once again. He also seemed to be toning up nicely, he'd lost some weight, but it had turned to muscle when Shikamaru and him began developing the new techniques.

Lee was his same boisterous self again, several fallen, shattered trees could attest to this as he trained.

A month had passed since that day that Shikamaru and Sasuke had met up again, but just the change in Shikamaru had helped the other's morale and soon after that, the burden of Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto's 'deaths' seemed to have lightened a bit as they concentrated on getting strong enough to break the barrier.

But while their morale had risen, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto's had dropped a little.

Sasuke had introverted somewhat and not even Sakura or Naruto could pry him out sometimes. They knew he missed Shikamaru alot, so they didn't blame him for whenever he got snappy with them. Sakura had gotten a bit gaunt and paler, having lost a few pounds from not being able to keep up her usual training reigmine. She could sometimes be found wringing her hands and biting her trembling lip as she'd watch them all.

Naruto didn't show nearly as many signs, feeling as if he had to be the strong one for his two friends and would curageously keep smiling and laughing for them, if only to lighten their hearts some. The most that could be seen was the tired lines under his eyes and the way he'd chew the inside of his cheek sometimes, making the whisker marks twitch and at best when he thought no one was looking, he'd adopt a look that seemed far-away and worn out.

All the other Jounin-sensei could see it plain as day that this was something that was wearing thin on their sanity.

"I believe it's time to release the jutsu, Sasuke." Sakura said wearily one morning as they ate breakfast.

Sasuke's eyes perked the slightest at the notion. It meant that they would be one step closer to this mission being over. "Hn." He agreed softly.

Naruto smiled. "You think they're ready, Sakura?"

"It's been a month. They've vastly improved since then. I think if Sasuke uses his genjutsu to suggest that they can break the barrier, then we can allow them to move closer to home. The closer to home, the closer the mission will be to being over. We're tired, they're tired... As it is, they're leading in growth rate compared to the other teams. Let's cut them a little slack, ne?"

Naruto grined. "Yatta!"

Sasuke's lips twitched a little.

"I think that they'd pass the Chuunin exams no problem now, to be honest." Sakura admitted.

"Probably," Naruto replied, taking a bite of his ramen.

"And the other teams?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, they've improved, but they're still lacking in growth as teams. Individually, there are about four that have excelled to about the level of this group."

"Hn, I suppose we'll have to work harder on them, then." Sasuke murmured before standing up.

Naruto quickly scarfed down his own breakfast before he leaped up as well.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the two. "Okay, let's go see what they do."

Sasuke's Sharingan swirled to life slowly as he crept closer and closer to the campsitethe others were at. Once there, his eyes widened for the briefest of moments as they flickered.

Everyone stilled for a long moment, they too had been eating breakfast.

Sasuke continued prodding their minds consecutively with the genjutsu, projecting the suggestion that today was the day they could break the 'barrier'.

"I... Why do I suddenly feel like we've come so far?" Kiba asked.

"Because we have, if you look at it. Each of us in our own fields have broadened further and we've become that much stronger." Shino answered seriously.

There was a small nod from everyone.

"I believe today we should try and break the barrier," Neji spoke up.

"Un," Hinata agreed. "We've all gotten stronger, we should see if it's enough. It's already been a month and a half."

There was agreement amongst the group. After breakfast, they all got up and made their way to the spot the 'wall' was.

Shikamaru lagged a little behind the rest, glancing around.

He saw a shadow trailing them slowly and he knew; with the smallest of smiles on his face, he turned his attention back towards the others.

Neji placed his hands forward until they met the wall. He closed his eyes and leaned his weight against it for a moment. It felt solid, but not at the same time.

"Alright. This is definitely a jutsu." He murmured as he continued to 'feel' the wall, sending chakra bursts against it.

"Ino, Shino, Shikamaru, Hinata-sama, if you would, start channelling chakra around yourself as if you're going to break a genjutsu."

The four nodded, bringing their hands together in simultanious 'Kai' seals and chakra began to flow around them.

"Chouji, wait for my signal and be ready to use your Nikudan Sensha, Kiba, you and Akamaru get ready to use your Gotsuuga." Neji ordered, Byakugan activating. He couldn't see anything physical to the 'wall' but when he pushed against it with his chakra...

He saw lines. Physical and Metaphysical ones each time he sent a pulse of chakra to it.

He turned. "Lee, Tenten, we will attack the wall directly. Lee, use your full strength. Tenten strike close to Lee, and I will follow it up."

"Yosh!" Lee cried, eyes blazing with fire in them.

"Un!" Tenten hummed in agreement.

Neji turned towards the wall. He sent one final blast of chakra into it, and when he did, he saw the lines appear once more, but this time, they were wavering under the seals the others were making.

"Lee, Tenten, now!" He ordered.

Lee rushed at the wall, striking out with all of his strength in the punch. Tenten geared up her newfound speed and began to strike repeatedly at the point next to Lee.

Neji's eyes began to see chakra waves clearly now at the disturbance they were causing it.

"Hinata, use your byakugan! Chakra lines are becoming clearer, tell the others where to direct their chakra to." He said before he turned and channeled chakra to his fist. Lee punched again, and this time the lines went in a circle and Neji moved in, striking that point hard with all of his strength. There was the sound of cracking.

"It's working!" Kiba cried.

Hinata's eyes activated and the began to see the lines of chakra becoming weaker in some areas, but stronger in others. "Shika-kun, there's a strong point there," She pointed with her pinky since she couldn't let go of the seal.

"Got it," Shikamaru mumbled, beginning to direct his chakra flow towards that point

"And Ino-chan, there's one there!"

"On it," Ino assured with a smirk.

"And Shino-kun, there's one directly infront of us, it's the biggest. We can work on it together."

"Fine," Shino nodded and the two of them began to channel their jutsu towards that point.

There was another sound of cracking.

"There!" Cried Hinata and Neji.

"Chouji, now!" Neji commanded, sending a strong kick into the barrier.

The Akimichi nodded and activated his jutsu. "Nikudan Sensha!" He tucked himself into a ball and threw all of his weight forward and rolled, gaining speed before he crashed into the wall and pressed against it with all of his might.

"Kiba, Akamaru... The other side of us, use your Gotsuuga!" Neji said through clenched teeth. He could feel how much harder the wall was becoming with every hit, but at the same time, he could see how unstable it was becoming.

"Yahoo! Akamaru, let's go!" Kiba cried. The puppy let out a yip and together as one they rushed towards them before going into a spin and like a giant drill, they crashed into the wall as well.

Sakura and Naruto observed from a tree, Sasuke was clutching his right eye, blood flowing heavily down from it and he was breathing heavily.

"They've...almost broken it." Sasuke grit out.

"Sasuke, don't stress your Mangekyou..." Sakura said worriedly.

"I have to make this as hard for them as possible, I can't just let it break..." Sasuke gasped out, his other eye beginning to bleed and his other hand went up to clutch at it as well.

"But, Sasuke..." Naruto protested.

"Just shut up and let me concentrate." Sasuke snapped.

Both fell silent and turned back to watching.

"It's almost there, just a little more..." Neji encouraged, he could feel his body protesting at how much force he was putting into his hits, but he couldn't stop. He wouldn't give in, they were so close...

And suddenly, as if by magic, there was a terrible cracking sound, and then, the wall simply shattered.

Chouji went barrelling into a tree, Kiba and Akamaru whizzed off into the distance with a yell and Lee and Tenten fell forward.

Neji staggered forward, before dropping to one knee, panting hard.

"We did it..." Ino breathed heavily.

Hinata ran over to her cousin and put her hand on his shoulder worriedly.

"Are you okay, Neji-niisan...?"

Neji looked up towards her and gave a small nod. "I'm fine, Hinata-sama. We managed to break the wall."

She smiled and nodded. "Un, we did."

"Guys, I can't believe we did it!" Cried Kiba joyously as he and Akamaru came running back through the brush to them.

"Yosh! The power of youth has emerged victorious yet again!" Lee cheered.

Tenten didn't even bother to reprimand him this time, she was smiling as well. "I guess we really have gotten stronger."

"Yeah~! Wait til everyone at home sees us now!" Ino cheered.

"Maa, mendoukusai..." Shikamaru mumbled, scratching the back of his head. "I'm tired."

"Typical." Shino stated, though his voice had a tinge of amusement in it.

"You got that right." Chouji agreed, grinning at Shikamaru who only grinned back.

Sasuke's eyes slowly cracked open ten minutes later to see Sakura and Naruto kneeling over him in worry.

"Sasuke? Oh, Sasuke! Thank goodness you're okay." Sakura said with relief.

"Don't ever do anything like that again, bastard, you worried the hell out of us!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke winced. "Dobe...shut up." He slowly sat up, feeling dizzy before he clutched at his head. "I have a ringing headache... So this is what it feels like to have your Psyche break..."

"Huh?" Sakura questioned.

"The sheer force of their physical and spiritual energies broke the genjutsu I had. Sharingan-genjutsu is different from regular genjutsu as the illusions are only as strong as the mind who uses them. When they broke through it, they broke through all my mental resistences and barriers. It broke my mental psyche. I... When I fought Itachi... I broke his. The pain, the anguish, and anger all flooded through me and through sheer force of will, I broke his Tsukuyomi, shattering his psyche."

"Oh..." Sakura said, slowly processing the information.

"You just collapsed in a fainted heap, Sasuke. Don't ever do that."

"I don't plan to." Sasuke replied weakly, still holding his head.

"Here, let me see if I can fix that headache." Sakura offered, placing her hands beside Sasuke's and a light green glow surged forward from her hands.

Sasuke sat there, feeling the ache and ringing slowly disappating, and finally, it left.

"Thanks, Sakura."

She nodded. "No problem. We better go catch up to them, they started moving out not hardly five minutes after you collapsed."

Sasuke pushed himself to stand, swaying for a second and blinked to steady himself.

"Yeah. Let's go."

They caught up and shadowed the group for a day, allowing the three to relax and rest.

They followed them for two more days until they made it to the Konoha region. They allowed the others to think they were home-free.

"Sakura, your genjutsu's are strong... If we combine our genjutsu's together, we can create a strong wall again that can't be broken that easy. Naruto, can you create an air wall and thread it into our genjutsu?" Sasuke asked.

"Hmm," Naruto hummed, looking thoughtful. "I've never tried. I mean, it's possible, right? So... Let's give it a shot, dattebayou!" The blond grinned his usual fox-grin and Sakura and Sasuke smiled as well.

"Right, let's try it out. Sakura, start your genjutsu and I'll add mine into it."

The girl nodded. "Right!" She began to form some seals before finishing it. The air shimmered again. The others were full of hope, and within moments of hitting the genjutsu 'wall', it was shattered.

"Dammit!" Kiba snarled. "Not again!"

"..." Shino looked around, making a thoughtful hum.

Neji had his arms crossed, brow ticking as he thought.

Shikamaru merely glanced around, trying to figure out where the three were, they couldn't be far if they had hit this wall so suddenly.

Sasuke brought his hands up and made his own seals, biting his thumb and smearing blood along his palm just as he finished the jutsu, sealing the strength of his psyche into the genjutsu without him needing to keep his sharingan active. He felt more than saw the new layer of the jutsu combine into Sakura's.

"Why would we be able to get so far only to hit another wall so close to home...?" Hinata wondered aloud.

"Something's fishy," Ino agreed.

"Perhaps..." Neji began, looking thoughtful again. "It really was a set-up."

"I agree." Shino spoke up. "It's become clearer that this is some sort of test."

"But...why?" Tenten asked.

"Survival," Shikamaru yawned, lacing his fingers behind his head as he gazed up at the sky, watching tje clouds lazily roll by. "To determine how well we could handle a hypothectical situation of our companion's dying, and how well we could grow as a team when faced with this."

All fell silent as they contemplated it again.

"It...makes sense, now that I really think about it." Lee admitted.

"Those sneaky bastards! I'm gonna deck 'em for putting us through that!" Kiba growled, Akamaru yipping in agreement.

"Survival, loss, and how to move on despite that... It all sounds too complicated for me." Chouji mumbled as he took a bite of his chips.

"They've figured it out." Sasuke murmured before turning to Naruto. "Use your jutsu before they try to break this wall."

Naruto grinned. "Got it!" He quickly began forming the seals, getting a concentrated look to his face. He may not have been good in genjutsu, but he could still feel where it was, it almost felt like a metaphysical tickle under his chakra network, so he could figure out where to direct the parameters of his jutsu. "Fuuton: White wall!"

A fine, white mist surrounded the area for a moment, before it touched against the layers of genjutsu and with an effort, Naruto gave a push of chakra and it looked as if it was absorbed in between the two layers. In actuality, the wind between the two layers began twisting and swirling so fast the white had disappeared and created a near vaccuum-like seal inside of the layers, creating a hard wall of air.

"Good job, Naruto!" Sakura praised.

Sasuke nodded "The reinforcement of a physical jutsu between the two genjutsu's should stall them for a little while longer. They might be able to break it with how strong they are now, but it will still take them a while to figure out the layout of said wall. Even Neji and Hinata's byakugan won't be able to see through it."

"Mm... Won't Shino's kikai pick up on Naruto's jutsu?" Sakura asked.

"Possibly, but his kikai can only pick up flucctuations of chakra and the flow of it. I don't know if he can detect what Naruto's jutsu is." Sasuke answered.

Naruto shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, they'll still have to come up with how to break it all."

They nodded, going back to observing.

"Do you think we can break this one, too?" Lee asked.

"Hmm..." Neji activated his Byakugan and put his hand forward, he yelped and jerked

back, the palm of his hand was bleeding.

"Neji-niisan?" Hinata questioned before she caught sight of his hand. She immediately grabbed it, her other hand glowing pale green as she healed the cuts that had suddenly appeared there.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, Hinata-sama... I went to touch the wall and I suddenly got cut by something invisible. I can't see anything." He answered.

Shino let out his Kikai. They flew close, but made sure not to touch the area Neji had.

"They are detecting a great flux of chakra that's flowing at a rapid rate... So fast I can't even begin to tell you what it is."

"Why can't we see the chakra lines?" Neji asked.

Shino went silent for a long while, trying to come up with an answer. After a long moment, he gave a small shrug and pushed his sunglasses up. "I know not. My kikai cannot sense what's causing it. I can only assume it may be moving too fast for even your Byakugan to see."

Shikamaru, however, had almost already guessed what the three had done, and was highly surprised at their cleverness. He had a small smile playing at the corner of his lips. Ino caught sight.

"What's with that smile? Do you know something?" She demanded.

Shikamaru sighed. "Mendoukusai." He mumbled.

The others rolled their eyes.

Tenten threw a kunai at the wall. Surprisingly, instead of bouncing off, it got sucked in and disappeared. "Neji! Track it!" She said.

"Good thinking, Tenten. Byakugan!" Neji's doujutsu activated and his eyes rapidly twitched from side to side, widening several long moments later.

"It's... It's a tornado!" He said. "The flux is causing the air to twist rapidly around us in a wall like a tornado, but it's moving so fast that we can't even detect it."

"So how do we go about dispelling it?" Kiba asked.

Neji's eyes continued twitching as he tried to analyze the current from the kunai that was still being whirled about inside of the vortex.

Finally, his lips curled up before he began laughing.

"What is it, Neji-niisan?" Hinata asked, blinking curiously.

"This... This jutsu...the feel of it. Can't you tell? Naruto made it."

This made several of the others eyes widen.

"R-really?" Ino asked.

"I'm positive. Only he could wield wind like this besides that Suna kunoichi he fought in the Chuunin exams. He's the only one creative enough to make something like this." Neji crossed his arms, amused smile still in place.

"Naruto-kun is very clever, indeed." Lee agreed.

"The genjutsu, then?" Chouji asked suddenly.

"Sakura and Sasuke, of course." Shikamaru spoke up.

There was silence for a long while.

"So...they're really alive?" Ino asked in a quiet voice.

"It appears that way, Ino-chan." Shino answered.

"...They're SO dead!" The blonde girl screamed, pumping her fist into the air with a warcry.

Kiba growled to accentuate her words. "I agree!"

"Uh, before you two beat them senseless, perhaps we should get back to figuring out how to get out of here...?" Tenten suggested.

Lee nodded. "Tenten's right. We must first concentrate on getting through this last test before we can make it home."

Chouji took a bite of his chips. "If it's wind...can't it be blocked?"

Neji frowned. "The rate it's moving, it first needs to be slowed. If you tried your nikudan sensha now, it would only throw you back out and you'd be seriously injured. We must break the genjutsu's first so we can see the wind. From there, we can figure out a way to break it."

There was a chorus of agreement.

"Let's focus on breaking the genjutsu's, then." Kiba agreed.

As one, they all brought their hands up and formed the typical 'Kai' seal.

"They've pretty much figured it out now." Sakura observed.

"They've become so much sharper both in figuring things out and in their teamwork." Naruto agreed.

"Hn," Sasuke hummed.

"Do you think they can break the genjutsu's?" Naruto asked.

Before Sakura or Sasuke could answer, an Anbu figure appeared, wearing a wolf mask.

"Status?" They asked.

"Progressing at an extraordinary rate. The group has excelled beyond all expectations. They've almost broken the last wall." Sakura replied.

"So you're going to be their final test, aniki?" Sasuke asked.

"Hai. Tsunade-sama asked me personally to test them." Itachi answered.

"Boy, I feel sorry for them." Naruto snickered.

"While they may not be able to defeat Itachi, the point of the exercise is to see if they've grown to act as a whole, not singularly. They're a group, they must act as one." Sakura reminded.

"If they've advanced as much as you say they have, Sakura-chan, then I've no doubt they will be a match for me. Nine against one, even if they are genin will still be a fair enough challenge."

Sasuke wanted to make some kind of comment, but kept his mouth shut and nodded, looking away. The three saw, and understood silently what he was going to say, and they didn't see the pained look Itachi had beneath his mask.

With the combined force of the whole group's energies, it only took about ten minutes for the genjutsu's to shatter, leaving the whirling white mist that was Naruto's tornado wall to appear.

"There! I can see the chakra lines now." Neji said as they stopped.

Hinata's eyes activated as well and they began to analyze the structure.

"If we're standing in the eye of the tornado, then..." Hinata murmured, looking down towards the ground. "The greatest flux of chakra is beneath us!"

Neji looked down as well, before nodding. "Right... Kiba,"

"Way ahead of you! Come on, Akamaru!" Kiba grinned. The puppy let out a loud bark and together, they jumped up high before twisting their bodies into a tight spin and began their typical 'Gotsuuga' attack and began to drill a hole straight down into the ground.

"The flucctuations are weakening," Shino murmured.

"It's working!" Ino pointed out. And the others could see the force of the tornado weakening. It was slowing down the more Kiba and Akamaru dug.

"I see... Chouji, please use your expansion above us. Air will die out if it's smothered." Hinata said quietly.

"Of course, Hinata." Chouji said before he clapped his hands together. "Expansion jutsu!" He jumped up and as if by magic, his body grew to epic purportional sizes. And when he started to come down, the air tornado caught him. Thanks to the lessened force, it could hold him, but not harm him. And between the combination of Kiba and Akamaru's Gotsuuga and Chouji's expansion, the tornado stilled down to a slow spin.

"Yosh! We are almost through!" Lee cried gaily.

"Just a little more... Hang in there!" Tenten encouraged.

"They've almost broken it. It's time." Itachi murmured.

"Are you sure... Itachi-nii?" Sasuke asked softly.

Itachi took his mask off and made a henge sign. He appeared to look like a long blue haired male, with a slashed-out konoha headband. "They will be formidable, no doubt, but the Godaime asked me, so I will follow through."

Sakura and Naruto nodded.

"Good luck, Itachi." Naruto said.

"I'm sure they'll meet your expectations!" Sakura added on.

Sasuke shared a look with his brother before he gave a nod. "Be careful."

With the slightest of nods, Itachi jumped from the limb of the tree down to the ground and took off in a flash.

Three minutes later, the group were nearly on the ground, gasping lightly for air due to the expansion jutsu smothering it. The tornado was very unstable and was going to collapse.

"A...little...more," Neji wheezed.

Kiba and Akamaru could no longer sustain their gotsuuga and were lying in their self-made crater panting.

"Are you sure, Neji?" Chouji asked.

"Yes... It's almost...broken..."

Shino breathed as lightly as he could. With a final effort, released all of his kikai and created a large wall of bugs and they swarmed into the tornado. All the air currents made a complete hault and Chouji began to fall towards them. Like nothing, he shrank back to normal and everyone took in a huge gasp of life sustaining air.

"Thank you, Shino..." Hinata praised.

"We must hurry and get out of here." Shino added on. "The air current will start back up soon."

"Yatta! Let's go!" Lee cried.

They all nodded and ran through the space the kikai were creating and when they were all through, Shino released the jutsu and the bugs all swarmed back to him.

"Well, well... You've broken through..." A new voice called. All of them whirling, their eyes widened to see the disguised Itachi.

"Who...are you?"

"...Your demise." Itachi answered, before he lunged for them, katana drawn.

**TBC**

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DHC:

Sorry for the long delay and the cut-off. I hope you all like it! 


	21. Chapter 17

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** Ahahaha, I am here with the next installment. I hope you all like it! Sorry for the long hiatus I took. Dx I needed a break.

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"Move!" Neji roared and at once, everyone sprung into action and leaped away from the point of impact, leaving Neji there. In a flash, the long haired Hyuuga veered to the side, a kunai in hand and swung out, aim deadly, intending to sink the blade to the hilt in their attacker's arm.

But Itachi saw it coming and broke off the swing, reversing the blade and swung it for Neji as he twirled on his heel to build momentum again. Neji's eyes widened, unexpecting the lightning reflex from the other and knew there was no other way to avoid the strike.

But before the weapon could connect to Neji, a kunai slammed into the blade, knocking it off mark, sending Itachi staggering from the force.

Standing on a limb from a tree, Tenten flipped another kunai around, three more poised between the fingers of her other hand. "Kiba-kun!" She yelled.

Out of nowhere, Kunai and shuriken began to rain down from above them. Neji took the opportunity to sunshin away and Itachi was forced to dash away as Kiba and Akamaru appeared and began to use their Gotsuuga attack.

Hinata jumped into Itachi's line of sight, her Byakugan activated and her hands glowing.

"Hiyahhh!" She cried as she dashed forward, rearing her hand back to strike with an open-palm.

Itachi glanced between Kiba and Hinata advancing on him. He twisted away from Hinata's first strike, ducked the second, and with the third, it left her open and he took it, grabbing her by the arm and flipped her, kicking her away at the last second. He was not fast enough to dodge Kiba and Akamaru's Gotsuuga...or so it seemed.

Before he could be sent flying, he dispersed in a flock of crows.

"Wha?" Kiba cried.

"He's hiding." Shino informed. "He's masking his chakra well, I can't find him."

Ino scanned the area from atop another tree. "Well, he couldn't have gotten that far, or he's just waiting for us to trip up!"

Neji and Hinata were looking around the area carefully.

Shikamaru was being subtle with everything he was doing. He was carefully moving around the trees of the area, making subtle seals and weaving an intricate genjutsu that stretched the whole area.

"No, that bastard is still here," Kiba replied, sniffing the air. "I can smell it. Come out!" He snarled and Akamaru barked in agreement.

Chouji was standing next to Lee who was looking around as well. "We must proceed with caution, as this enemy seems to be very skilled, indeed." Lee commented.

"You're right," Neji confirmed. "We must assume that they are above our level of skill. Don't lower your guard."

"I'm gonna try something!" Ino declared as she jumped down from the tree, leaning against it. Before anyone had a chance to protest or say anything, her hands formed the seals and her eyes slid closed and her body slumped against the tree.

"She... What'd she do?" Hinata asked.

"She's using her new jutsu," Shino explained. "We developed it recently."

Ino could hear, but not hear her companions. It was an odd sensation. Her consciousness was floating. Instead of possessing a person's body immediately, she let her conscious wander freely. If she could locate all of her companion's minds, then she could probably find the bad guy's, right? The idea was simple. Finding it, was harder.

She could feel the warm auras of her companions, but there was an oddity she couldn't describe and that's what had her consciousness floating closer and closer, until-

Itachi leaped out of a tree, straight for the area that Lee and Chouji were standing at. Just before he could reach them, however, he froze.

A web of shadows surrounded him like a spider-web. He struggled, but could not break the hold.

"Fell for it, eh?" Shikamaru grinned.

"...Clever," Itachi said, forcing a sneer upon his features. Just at that moment, another Itachi leaped out and headed straight for Ino's unconscious body.

Ino could feel the sensation upon her, it was so close-but she heard the yell of her name and instantly snapped her spirit back towards her body. Before she could make it, her spirit collided with Itachi.

Itachi could feel it, his eyes activated behind the henge and he used it to repel the Yamanaka. What he wasn't expecting was that when he reached her body and touched it, a flash of memories, feelings, and thoughts flooded through him, overwhelming him. In that instant, Ino broke through his mental resistance.

His body stilled, his mind was still fighting against her conscious inside of him, thankfully, he managed to keep her out of his memories, thankfully keeping himself well hidden from her even as he felt the control of his body leaving him.

"Ino, daijoubu ka?" Shino asked as he slowly approached.

Slowly, Itachi turned his head and blinked slowly, pulling his hand back away from Ino's body.

"It's okay, I think..." Ino answered through him. "Something happened... I was trying to get back into my body when I hit him... We fought for control, but... I can't read anything about him. It's like his mind is blank. It's freaky..."

The others came around. "Is there anything else you can tell us?" Neji asked.

"Well, their immediate thoughts were just on how to defeat us, but there was no images or thoughts of them killing us... I don't really feel any malice. It's odd."

"Do you think this was another test?" Lee asked.

Shikamaru glanced towards the other clone of Itachi who was still struggling. Itachi's consciousness flooded to the clone and was trying to find a way to get out. "It's possible... I don't think we'll get an answer out of them, though."

"Get out of my body, you bitch!" Itachi yelled, keeping up his facade as he continued to struggle against the shadow-web.

Ino snorted, sticking her tongue out at him. "Make me. Besides, I can always dispel you, since you're a clone. Your conscious is trapped, you can't do anything. And really," She brandished a kunai from Itachi's pouch.

"I don't think you want me to harm this nice body of yours, do you?"

"Maybe I do," Came another voice.

Just at that moment, Ino screamed as immediate pain laced through her whole being and she blacked out.

At that, everyone whirled to see Itachi again, this time both clones disappeared, including the one Ino had been in.

"Ino!" Hinata cried as she ran over to her.

Ino's face was a grimace of pain as her body shook and slowly her eyes opened. "Wh-what happened...?"

"You took over my clone's body. I forcefully dispelled it, forcing you out of my consciousness." Itachi explained in a blank voice, drawing his katana again.

Everyone minus Hinata and Ino got into a stance.

Itachi dashed forward, striking low with the back of his blade to knock the air out of Lee, twisting and kicking out when Tenten leaped for him, sending her flying back with a loud cry.

He was quick to avoid Neji's jyuuken strike and was forced to parry each strike with the flat side of his blade. When Neji finished his first volley, Itachi saw the opening and lashed out fast, catching the Hyuuga by surprise as he struck him across the back of the neck with a chop, knocking him clean out by momentarily severing the impulses from his brain to his body.

"Neji!" Hinata cried again.

Ino stood up, still shaking a little. "G-go, Hinata. Go take care of him. I'm okay."

Hinata looked at her, before nodding and began to run over towards her cousin.

Akamaru and Kiba charged for Itachi next, engaging him with their fast speed. When it looked like they had him cornered, instead of going in for the finish like they would have before, they broke it off. "Chouji!" They yelled. Before Itachi could wonder, a large shadow overcast him. He had three seconds to move and dove out of the way just in time as Chouji came down in his expansion form, leaving a large crater where he would've been.

"Ngh! Damn," Kiba growled.

Shino took Itachi's momentary distraction to send out a hailstorm of his kikai towards him.

Itachi was hard pressed to avoid them and not get cornered by Kiba again, lest he want to get flattened by Chouji who was now munching away on his chips at a rapid pace, which could only mean one of two things...

"Neji! Neji, wake up!" Hinata said as she finished healing him with her chakra. His head was in her lap and she was gently shaking him. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open. "Oh, thank goodness..." She said.

"Hinata-sama...?"

"It's okay. He just knocked you out. There was nothing serious." She replied.

He slowly sat up and turned his head to watch the fight for a moment before standing, looking over to see that Lee and Tenten were still out. "Take care of them, Hinata-sama... Thank you."

She smiled and stood too, giving a small nod. "Un." She sprinted over to Lee next.

Ino rejoined the fight by providing some long-range help, throwing out kunai and shuriken to keep Itachi from gaining an advantage over them. Whenever he tried to run or get close, she'd throw some projectiles to keep him from it. She knew she wasn't quite strong enough to engage him head on and she knew she couldn't get her family jutsu's to hit, so the best she could do was to help them out this way.

Itachi jumped back underneath a tree to avoid another volley of Ino's projectiles before a large shadow wrapped around him.

"Shadow bind, success." Shikamaru yawned, holding his hands in the familiar seal that he used to utilize his shadow abilities.

Itachi struggled, but he knew he couldn't break it. He already knew that Shikamaru knew that it was Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto's idea, so it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to reveal himself to him. So with an effort, he turned his head and met Shikamaru's eyes. In an instant, Shikamaru found himself in the midst of nothingness.

"Hello, Shikamaru-kun." Itachi murmured.

"Ah..." Shikamaru mumbled, turning to face him, yawning. "I was wondering if it was you."

Itachi gave him a dry smirk. "I'm here to test all of you."

"I gathered that. And how do we fair?"

"Above what I initially expected." Itachi replied.

"Is that a good or bad thing?" Shikamaru yawned again, scratching the back of his head.

"That's for me to know."

"So why did you pull me into the genjutsu?"

"I need you to let me go. I have an act to keep up. I don't want to forcefully break your shadow. If I seem to struggle a little too hard, would you?"

Shikamaru's brows furrowed before he sighed. "Alright. This is such a pain in the ass..."

"Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah... The sooner this is over, the sooner we all can go home, right?"

"Hn." Itachi nodded.

"Okay. So let me out and start struggling."

No sooner had he said that, than the genjutsu broke and Itachi began struggling again.

"Ngh!" Shikamaru fake exclaimed. "I don't know if I can keep holding him with his newfound energy..."

Before any of the others could react, Shikamaru pretended that his shadow 'broke' by letting it splay out before fading.

Itachi jumped away onto a branch. "Damn you! I won't forget this... Konoha will fall! And I'll make sure you bunch die first!" With that, he jumped away and disappeared.

"Let's go, we've got to be ahead of them when they make it back home." Sasuke murmured when Itachi caught up to them.

"Right, let's move." Naruto agreed. Sakura and Itachi nodded wordlessly and the four of them leaped from the branch away in the direction of Konoha.

They made it back three hours ahead of the others, giving enough time to report to Tsunade, and make their way off.

The whole team entered Tsunade's office later that day.

"Good work," Tsunade praised softly as she smiled.

Neji sighed as he gave the woman the whole report. Afterwards, he decided to speak up. "May I request to speak freely?"

Tsunade and Hiruzen both nodded.

"I think you went too far," He said coldly. "Putting this kind of pressure upon the genin, forcing us to evolve too fast is not going to produce the correct results you're searching for. While we may have succeeded, I suggest you should call off the exercise before any of the other teams get hurt."

There was a chorus of agreement from the others around him.

Tsunade frowned deeply. Hiruzen was the one to speak up. "My boy, while I agree with you, these recent events have brought us to realize we are lacking, and we must make up for this. Normally, we wouldn't agree with such a training regimine as crucial as this, but from the recent drop in numbers to our village from that attack, we must prepare you to face what's to come."

The others looked between one another.

"You've become that much stronger both individually, and as a team. Once you become Chuunin, Jounin, perhaps even ANBU, you will be faced with like-minded situations. You all have learned the importance of working past those circumstances that could always happen while in the field. We may not like it, infact, it's something that should never happen, but we are Shinobi, we must move on despite our losses, we must perservere and carry out the wills of those that have passed before us."

They were all silent. Neji sighed, but gave a nod. "I know," He said softly. "But putting it so clinically only makes it seem all the more deceitful and uncaring." He turned on his heel.

"Let's go," He suggested softly to the group.

They all nodded and began to file out of the Hokage's office, leaving the two in silence.

"...Heh, who knew that Hyuuga, Neji could be so concerned?" Tsunade finally said.

Hiruzen chuckled softly as he took a puff from his pipe. "He's learned the responsibility of leading a team, there is no room to be selfish in such a position. He has begun to see the sides of our world that are unpleasant and cruel, and the sides that should never be in the first place."

Tsunade gave a small sigh as she nodded to her sensei. "It's actually somewhat surprising...how much progress they truly learned while out there by themselves. They've learned not only more about themselves, but about one another. It only serves to strengthen those bonds, but...at what cost, Sarutobi-sensei? We've only forced them to grow up that much faster. What will happen when the day comes that so much has changed that our youth will no longer be?"

There was a long silence between them.

"I do not know, Tsunade." Hiruzen answered finally. "I pray for the day peace will settle before then."

"Yes."

The group had all split ways at the center of town, going their seperate ways towards their homes to inform their families of their return.

Neji and Hinata made their way back to the Hyuuga compound, bowing to Hiashi, informing them of their completed mission before going to their rooms to change, returning to join him and Hanabi for their afternoon tea.

"You both have grown," Hiashi spoke softly, but his voice held a proud edge to it. "I believe you two will be the Hyuuga's finest yet."

Hinata blushed heavily, swallowing back the urge to duck away and stutter and held her head up and gave the faintest of bows. "Thank you, father."

Neji bowed as well to accept the praise, unnoticing the delicate hands pouring his tea before making their way around the table to pour everyone else their tea.

Hanabi finally spoke up, all with a smile as she took a long sip of her tea. "So what was it like?"

"Very harsh," Neji spoke. "We learned much, but... I fear the cost will be too great upon the genin."

Hinata sighed quietly. "The mental, physical, and emotional training we endured, it was very strenuous but I believe the rest of us have become that much closer, as friends, and individually. I learned much about myself and the others, but I agree with Neji-niisan. The results may become catastrophic if our generation of shinobi must endure such training so early."

Hiashi took their information in silently as he took a sip of his tea. Slowly, he looked up to the delicate looking figure standing in the corner of the room, the teakettle still in her hands, looking a little pained and upset.

He decided to lighten the mood a little. "Haruno-san, you make very fine tea."

At once, Hinata and Neji's heads snapped up and around to take in the sight of a finely dressed Sakura in a beautiful while furisode, sakura, orange, and ume blossom petals swirling across them hems of the arms and bottom of it, while red rose petals decorated the center, a sky blue obi tying the furisode closed, various butterfly pins attached to it, her hair was pinned very formally up, a light weave of silver leaves wrought through the locks like a crown upon her head as she gave a formal bow. "Arigatou, Hyuuga-sama."

"Sakura-chan!" Hinata gasped, before a smile made it to her face, making her radiate brightly. "You look very beautiful,"

Sakura smiled back. "Thank you, Hinata-chan."

Neji stared, seeing the young woman before him made his heart pound, taking in the beauty of her outfit up to the beauty of her features, of her pale-but not incredibly pale-skin, her soft hair and the way it shined from the way she took care of it, and her eyes... They met, and he found his pulse speeding up that much more, caught somewhere between wanting to run and embrace her, before a conflicting sorrow suddenly grasped him as the memory of her lifeless body lying there flashed before him. A subtle anger grew within him and he coldly turned away, pushing his tea away and stood. "May I be excused, please?" He requested.

He didn't see the long, hurt look that Sakura's face shadowed with, nor did he see the disapproving gaze Hanabi sent his way or the surprise on Hinata's. Hiashi, however, saw through his nephew, and saw the feelings he was going through. He knew forcing him to stay was unwise, so he gave his permission with a nod.

"Thank you." Neji said as he turned and silently stalked away, sliding the door to the teahouse closed behind him as he made his way off to his favorite training spot.

Sakura was struggling with her feelings. All she wanted to do was speak, to run after him, apologize, hell, to even cry, but she stopped her lower lip's trembling and swallowed, forcing herself to maintain her composure as she set the teakettle gently upon the table and collected Neji's teacup and silently walked out of the room gracefully with as much dignity as she could muster, though her pride was damaged as the remaining Hyuuga's could hear the gentle sound of her washing the cup and see the almost awkward way she moved through the thin oil-paper that seperated them.

"Why does Neji-niisan have to hide how he feels?" Hanabi finally spoke up, looking a little angry. "I'm not stupid, I could see it. He likes Sakura-chan."

Hinata sighed quietly. "Hanabi... You weren't there with us. Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, and Sakura-chan all faked their deaths... We watched them 'die' before our eyes. Neji-niisan doesn't know how to feel right now." She explained softly.

Hanabi went quiet for a long while. "So he's angry at her?"

"In a way," Hiashi explained. "It was Haruno-san's idea for the survival exercise she put them through. While I don't think he knows this, he's still upset because he doesn't know if he should feel happy she's here and alive, or if he should be angry at her for doing such a thing."

Hanabi stood silently, walking out through the door and the two could see Hanabi walk to Sakura's form and embrace her.

Hinata gave a weak smile. "I will speak to Neji-niisan later." She promised.

Hiashi gave her a nod. "Thank you, Hinata."

She gave a polite bow and they finished their tea.

Sakura returned a few moments later with Hanabi, looking like she was going to cry again, but remained silent and kept her cool as best as possible. When they were all finished, Sakura offered them all some more tea, but they declined with their thanks and she collected the cups and the teakettle and walked away to wash them.

Hinata slowly stood and excused herself to go find Neji.

Hanabi told her father she was going to go study some more and left for her room.

Sakura returned once she was finished to find Hiashi waiting. "Haruno-san, would you join me for a walk?" He requested.

She did her best to smile and gave a polite bow. "It would be my honor, Hyuuga-sama."

He smiled kindly at her and took her by the arm gently and they began to walk out of the teahouse and down the long path that wound around the complex towards the gardens.

Hinata made her way to where she knew her cousin was only to see him rigorously training, his hair-tie had broken from the force he was moving at and his hair was flying free. She made her way down and silently moved infront of him a few yards away and dropped into a stance wordlessly.

Neji gazed at her and she gave a small nod. He rushed her, putting all his force and feelings behind every strike he made at her. Hinata merely parried them and blocked, striking back when she could. He grit his teeth and pushed himself to move faster and strike harder. He was so confused, he didn't know what to think, much less feel. His feelings were jumbled up so much, he was afraid to confront them.

Hinata merely accepted his strikes, giving him the time he needed, doing her best to show him she was there for him and to accept his confusion and offer what consolation she could in the only way she knew how without speaking.

Finally, there was a breaking point. Neji rushed her one more time with one final strike, all of his energy put into it and before he could connect to her, she gently put her hand around his wrist, completely stopping him from striking her in the chest. He looked up with widened eyes to see her smiling face, her kind eyes understanding and it broke him. He slumped forward into his cousin, his legs trying to give way beneath him.

Hinata caught his collapsing form and just let him lean against her. She hugged him, listening to how fast his heartrate was, how erratically he breathed, trying to calm himself, and felt the shaking throughout his body.

"I don't know what to think or feel anymore, Hinata-sama..." He admitted.

"I know," She said quietly. "I'm not sure I do, either." She replied.

"When I saw her there, all I wanted to do was embrace her, but I... I'm so angry at her, at the three of them for what they put us through. Kami help me, she's beautiful, Hinata-sama..."

Hinata smiled a little sympathetically at him and hugged him tighter. "Sakura-chan is a very beautiful lady," She agreed. "I find myself jealous of her sometimes. She's so much more mature than me, she can hold herself so tall, and not flinch in the face of the unknown. She's so strong... I admire that. I'm sure she will be a good mate to whom her heart chooses."

Neji's whole body tensed up, and his eyes clenched shut. Suddenly, the thought of Sakura being with someone struck him and he found himself angry at it. He didn't want her to be with anyone, he felt extremely jealous. The proverbial green-eyed monster had ahold of him. He felt almost indignant. Who her heart chose? Did that mean she held no feelings whatsoever for them? For him? He wasn't blind, he realized he found himself attracted to her, but he always scoffed, she was merely a friend, a teammate, someone he could trust.

But when he'd saw her lifeless body lying there, felt that sorrow... He had suddenly been hit by all of these regrets. Things he never had told her. How beautiful she was, how much he enjoyed her company, how much he appreciated the small gestures of friendship she always gave him. It was never anything big, but she always gave him some kind of small gift. The one that he treasured the most was a beautiful ume blossom comb for his hair she had made herself. It all suddenly clicked into place and he found himself back at square one: confused.

He shook his head and let out a long sigh, his body shuddering as he tried to let it relax. "Yes," He admitted bitterly. "I just..."

Hinata blinked, breath catching in a small hope he could say it aloud, to admit how much he felt about her.

"I'm just selfish," He said finally. "I don't want her to be with anyone. I want her right here, with us." He mumbled, his voice dropping to a mere whisper. "...With me."

Hinata glanced up at that moment to see her father and Sakura approaching. She gently gave her cousin a shake. "Then tell her," She urged softly. "It's not too late."

Neji looked up at his cousin and she gave him a kind smile again. She pulled him to stand with her and gently shifted her eyes to tell him they were coming. He glanced back to see them approaching down the pathway, conversing to themselves, and he once again found his eyes drawn to her beautiful outfit, the graceful way it shifted as she walked, before up to her face that held surprise in them at the moment, before her expression changed and a smile overtook her, making her face light up to her eyes, making her look that much more attractive to him. He looked back at Hinata who smiled again at him encouragingly and he found the will to give her a small smile in return.

"Arigatou, Hinata-sama." He thanked quietly.

She gave a small bow of her head.

"Ah, there you two are. I have some news for you." Hiashi announced once they stopped within a few feet of the two cousins. "You three will begin to teach and train Hanabi. Haruno-san has agreed to become her mentor for the academy. As you know, Hanabi is at the top of her grade. It's far time she begins her duty as a Hyuuga and begin learning the techniques of our clan."

Neji and Hinata both looked shocked for a long moment, before they both gave a nod. "Hai, tousan." Hinata replied with a low bow.

"Are you...sure, uncle?" Neji asked softly, frowning just a moment to express his concern for his younger cousin.

"Yes," Hiashi answered.

"...Very well." Neji replied.

"Don't worry," Sakura assured quietly, her head dropped, her hands fidgeting. "...I won't force her to grow too fast..."

Neji's words came back to haunt him and for another time that day, he struggled to get ahold of his emotions. He would make it up to her, he swore inwardly.

-

Shikamaru ambled down the pathway to the Uchiha complex, knocking once before entering with a polite call of 'Ohayou' as he slipped his sandals off.

"Oh, Shikamaru-kun," Mikoto greeted with a smile. "Sasu-chan's been waiting for you. He's out at the bath-house."

Brow raising, he gave a nod and a thank you to the woman before he made his way out towards the bath-house. Steam was pouring out through the cracks of the door by the time he reached. He slid the door open under his hand and stepped inside. The humidity was near stifling, but he soon adjusted as he made his way to the edge of the water. Sitting upon a small rock, long, delicate looking legs just barely peeking out of the water sat Sasuke, dressed in nothing but a loose bathing yukata.

Shikamaru's breath caught at the sight. He looked like an alluring siren, the steam from the water only added to the effect.

"I thought you could use a hot bath to relax," Sasuke murmured softly, looking up through his long bangs that shadowed over his face. His hair was out of the tie, it cascaded down his back and shoulders, making Shikamaru's fingers itch to run his hands through it.

Attempting to recover, the shadow user looked away. "Damn right I could...mendoukusai." He yawned before he slowly began to slip off his clothes until he was down to absolutely nothing and slipped into the water, slowly wading over to where the Uchiha was sitting. He lift his hand and slowly trailed his fingertips up along the side of Sasuke's thigh, feeling the way it quivered beneath his touch. There was a breathy sigh as Sasuke slowly pushed himself down from the rock, sliding down into the water with the other.

Shikamaru smiled just a little, bringing both hands up to trail from the older male's shoulder's, pushing the loose fabric down until he reached the tie to the yukata and pulled it open. Sasuke let the material slide off his body to sink into the water from the heaviness the material absorbed from the water. Shikamaru pulled the Uchiha up close to him, bringing his hand up to twine into his long ebon hair, slowly bringing him down until they were mere inches apart.

Lips met a fraction of a second later, breaking the chaste moment between them. There was a soft kind of sensuality to their movements as they broke the kiss a moment later. They didn't speak any words as their hands began to roam, slowly tracing over the expanses of skin.

It was late towards the evening before they returned.


	22. Interlude 5

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** Hahahahaha! I live. I bring to you yet another interlude, and I'm sorry for the long delay in my writing. A lot of shit's gone down in my life right now LOL. But I hope you all enjoy this!

* * *

Multiple Naruto clones were scattered throughout town, running about on various errands thanks to Sakura, Sasuke, and their original. One by one, each clone had visited their friends and invited them to team seven's training ground towards the evening for a picnic dinner.

Finally, after about two hours of hide-and-seek, all the clones dispersed and Naruto nearly keeled over. "Good lord, it's hard to find everyone!" He whined.

"Oh, shut up." Sakura chided with a light giggle. "You're the one who's hard to find, dumbass. you look in the wrong places."

Sasuke just rolled his eyes with a snort. "Are you...sure we should be doing this?" He finally dared to ask after a moment's pause.

The other two looked back at him, going quiet as well.

"Well..." Naruto began, looking thoughtful.

"I think we should, it feels wrong to keep this secret for so long from them. We do kind of need to make amends for what we put them through, we should at least explain to them why we did." Sakura explained after another moment, looking dazed.

The two males shared a look, they understood what had gone down with Sakura at the Hyuuga's and how it had affected their friend. Sighing, Sasuke finally nodded in agreement. "Okay."

"Come on, let's finish up shopping for everything and fix everything up before they arrive. It wouldn't be good to be late since we're the hosts." Sakura said, ushering her two male companions ahead of her so they could finish their preparations for the evening ahead.

Time flew by quickly to them and soon found them out at their training field setting up the picnic cloths on the ground for everyone to sit on. Sakura neatly set out the plates and trays filled with fruit and sandwiches and other sorts of goodies they all made for the get-together.

Half an hour passed and soon everyone showed up and took a seat on the ground, helping themselves to the meal.

"We wanted to apologize to all of you," Sakura said softly to them all. "for what we did and put you guys through. We know that it was wrong of us to decieve you, but we all felt it was necessary that you guys learn to be a team and work together as friends and individually."

Sasuke nodded. "We had it planned from the start what would happen,"

Naruto agreed with a hum. "Yeah, and we just wanted to ask you guys to forgive us. We have a reason for it."

The others looked at the three, wondering slightly what that reason would be.

"So why all the deception in the first place?" Tenten asked.

"Because," Sasuke sighed. "Things wouldn't have turned out the way they did if you had known, so I trapped you all in a genjutsu."

"You bastard-" Kiba snarled, only for Hinata to shake her head at him, calming him down.

"And I convinced all of your Jounin instructors to play part, too." Sakura added on grimly.

"I knew it," Shino said quietly. "So it really was Kurenai-sensei's genjutsu I felt?"

"Yes."

"And the reasons for it being...?" Neji snapped.

The three of them winced.

Sasuke stood up with a sigh. "Alright, I'll tell you."

Naruto and Sakura nodded to their companion and slowly, he walked a bit ways away so everyone could see what he was doing.

"Imagine this, if you can: In the future, Sakura, Naruto, and I went on a mission and nearly died. To save us, he brought us back to the past. The past-this timeline-we've been changing. Changing it for the better so that none of the mistakes we made would ever happen again." Sasuke explained slowly.

"Time travel?" Lee asked curiously.

"Impossible!" Ino cried out.

"Not necessarily," Shino reasoned with a frown. "But the question does need to be raised at how much chakra it would take to reverse time. If you were dying, wouldn't that mean you wouldn't have any chakra left?"

"And here comes my secret." Naruto said softly as he stood up.

Slowly, he raised his shirt and with a push of chakra, his seal appeared.

"What is that?" Chouji asked around a sandwich.

"When I was born, my father placed a seal on me. A very important one. One that ensured the safety of the village at all costs." Naruto said whistfully, his eyes slowly trailing up towards the Hokage monuments, his eyes lingering upon the fourth's. "My mother had died after giving birth to me, and with all of his strength and power, my father died to place this seal on me."

"N-no way!" Ino squeaked. "It can't be... You're..."

Naruto nodded grimly. "I am the bearer of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, my father Namikaze, Minato sealed the demon entity into me when I was born to save the village since he knew, he could not kill it."

There was an air of silence all around as they took in and absorbed the information.

"There's something else you should know," Naruto said softly. "and you may hate me for it, but Kyuubi is free."

"Huh? Free? What do you mean?" Kiba asked.

"Kurama is the Kyuubi." Shikamaru spoke up.

Naruto nodded. "Through a re-wiring of the seal, I offered him freedom through the eyes of a human if he agreed never to harm a human unless they come with the intent to kill. He's...changed. He's seen the world through my eyes all my life, he's seen just how much humans range and differ-he's seen and felt everything I have. I gave him freedom because not even a demon deserves to be locked in a cage to die."

"So... So... You're saying... That all this time, Kurama's...?" Tenten asked.

"Yes. He's been outside of the seal, with the Hokage's approval. I still hold the strings to his freedom, I could easily take it away if he ever tried anything. He's still bound to me by the seal. So long as I live and breathe, so does he. The moment I die, he dies."

"...So that's the other source of chakra you've always given off." Neji said softly.

"Yes, that's his that is within me. I brought us to the past using his chakra to create an explosion in the dimensions of time to warp us back to the age of seven." Naruto replied solemnly.

"How can this be true...?" Hinata asked quietly.

Sasuke slowly looked up. Right before them, he activated his Sharingan.

"But, you said it wasn't active!" Tenten cried.

"I lied," Sasuke said, looking grim. "I've been working under a handicap so Orochimaru would be hindered. If I don't have the Sharingan awakened, he can't take my body again."

"...Again?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Let me show you..." Sasuke said. With a swirl of the Sharingan, he drew them all deep into the recesses of his mind with the Tsukuyomi. They were all standing in a blank abyss.

"I copied the memories of Naruto and Sakura to fill in the blanks of the times I was not in Konoha. To understand, I need to take you back to the beginning of it all and catch you up to the present." Sasuke's voice rang around them.

Slowly, images began to flash before them. The bloody memories of the first Uchiha slaughter, his brother, up to the academy days with Naruto and Sakura, the graduation, the Chuunin exams, the events that happened prior, during, and after, to the time he left. He showed his side of the story through his life with Orochimaru before he cut it off and showed the events of Naruto's life, the same memories but through his eyes, then Sakura's, and filled in all of the spaces in between so there left no gap between their memories.

When he was finished, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke stepped out of the shadows of Sasuke's mindscape in their older forms, looking to be the way they had when they had died.

"This is us," Sasuke said softly.

"We're telling you, because we trust you guys. We needed to let you know, but only after you had become strong enough to handle the truth." Sakura added on.

"That, and we need you. To help us change the future. We made plenty of mistakes of our past, as you can see, and how different this parallel is now." Naruto finished.

Slowly, the darkness faded around them and the others found themselves back in reality with Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto standing in their sixteen year old forms again.

"...This..." Ino began, trying to comprehend it all.

"This is hard to accept, guys." Chouji said.

"This is some seriously heavy shit." Kiba agreed, still trying to let everything sink in.

There was a chorus of nods and agreement from the others.

"We know," Sasuke answered. "But we wouldn't tell you if we didn't feel you weren't ready. We wouldn't tell you if we didn't trust you. You're our friends, our nakama."

"...So how does this explain why you put us through all that?" Neji finally asked.

"Because in the coming days, Orochimaru will return no doubt." Naruto replied. "And you've been made aware of the Akatsuki-those people in the black coats with the red clouds. They want all the Jinchuuriki so they can revive the Juubi. We need you guys to help us keep an eye and ear out when you're on missions. You'll know what to look for, what to ask about. We did it so you guys could be strong enough to handle it."

Sakura spoke up. "This isn't the end, this is the beginning. A new start. For all of us, not just Naruto, Sasuke, and I. In our old life, we hardly knew one another until we were older. Now, we want us to be together and close as we were then, but now. We can be a team. But we need to be strong enough to support one another, you see? We put you through that so you'd learn one anothers strengths and weaknesses so you can offset them as a whole and individually. In time, we'll show you ways to become stronger, so you can catch up to the strength we remember you having. It will be hard, we still are having trouble catching up to our former power, we're not at full strength, either."

"Will you help us, guys?" Naruto asked.

The others all looked between one another, silent for a long while.

"Count me in," Shikamaru spoke up first.

Sasuke's lips twitched a little, arching up slightly into a small smile.

"I'm in," Chouji said second, following after Shikamaru.

Slowly, one by one, there was a chorus of agreement and nods of acceptance.

"Thank you, you don't know how much this really does mean to us." Sakura said, her eyes misting over a little.

"Then you must clearly underestimate us, after what you've just shown us. We were in your mindset, remember?" Neji countered.

Giving a watery smile, Sakura nodded. "Right. I'm sorry."

"Enough with all this seriousness, guys, it's starting to kill me." Naruto complained loudly, breaking up what was left of the tension that everyone was still feeling, causing everyone to give out a small laugh or chuckle.

"Hn. Usuratonkachi." Sasuke taunted with a small smirk.

"Teme!"

Sakura only laughed at them. "Not now, you two. Let's not have another fight so soon."

"B-but Sakura-chan, he insulted my manliness!" Naruto whined.

"What manliness?" Sasuke replied.

"OI!"

Sakura snorted. "Shut up, both of you before I punch you clear to Suna." She threatened teasingly.

And the rest of the evening passed by smoothly, the others mulling the information over, but finding it easier to accept now, seeing that the three were still themselves, despite all that they'd shown them.

Time passed by and came to find everyone sprawled out across the blankets, the food put away back into a containing scroll by Sakura and they were all just staring up at the stars in the sky, talking about random things, sometimes asking questions about the other timeline that they'd been shown.

"Ha." Sasuke murmured to Naruto, who had his head on his stomach, lying out long-wise, with Sakura doing likewise to Naruto.

"Ha-ha." Naruto replied.

"Ha-ha-ha." Sakura did as well.

"What're you three doing?" Kiba asked.

"Playing the "Ha-ha" game. You put your head on someone's stomach, they say "Ha", you say "Ha-ha", the next, three times, so on, and so forth. You have to keep exact count and try not to laugh more than you're supposed to." Naruto explained.

"Wanna play?" Sakura asked, grinning at the others who had risen a brow at their antics.

Looking around, some of the others shrugged. Ino joined in, as well as Hinata, Lee, Shika, and Chouji, leaving the others to watch.

They started again.

"Ha." Sasuke murmured.

"Ha-ha." Shikamaru.

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Hinata.

"Hahahaha!" Lee.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha." Naruto.

Ino had a huge smile on as she tried not to giggle. "H-ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha!"

Sakura bit her lip as she continued with her seven ha's.

Chouji finished it with his eight.

Sasuke started it again with nine, and by this time, Tenten and Kiba joined in.

They got all the way around again, all of them were grinning like they were children again and it took some convincing but Shino and Neji joined in, too.

And after four more times and getting up to about 57-it broke.

"Hahahahahahaha!" Squealed Tenten as she couldn't take it any longer and just started out right laughing, causing all the others to break out into laughter as well, unable to contain themselves any longer.

It soon became a rip-roaring snort fest and bodies were rolling over the ground, clutching their stomachs as they laughed for no reason at all, but the whole thing in and of itself was entertaining.

Grinning like idiots, smiling like absolute dorks and just outright smirking some of them, they caught their breaths, feeling that much lighter hearted and at ease.

About fifteen minutes, found them all getting up to head home.

"Let's meet up tomorrow for a group training session!" Sakura suggested, and was met with a chorus of agreement.

Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto packed up the picnic and began to head towards Sasuke's house.

"That was fun." Sakura giggled.

"I didn't think we'd make it that far." Naruto said.

Sasuke chuckled. "It helped to loosen them up."

"That it did." Sakura agreed with a comforted sigh.

"Well, come on guys! I'll race you there! LAST ONE THERE HAS TO PUT EVERYTHING AWAY!" Naruto cried and began to run off.

"HEY! YOU CHEATER!" Sakura screamed and began to run after him, leaving Sasuke sprinting to catch up.

Laughter echoed all the way through the Uchiha district.

* * *

**DHC: **Kiii, yay for Konoha fluff! Hope everyone enjoyed the light-heartedness of this chapter. *hearts*


	23. Chapter 18

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** And I'm back again with yet another chapter. X_x I hope you like it.

* * *

"Good job, Hanabi." Sakura encouraged as she watched the youngest Hyuuga heiress train in her shuriken and kunai throwing.

"But I still missed four!" The girl complained, looking frustrated.

"You don't get good over night, Hanabi." Sakura said softly, leaning down until she was face level with the girl. "The rest of us trained really hard, too."

"...But I want to be as good as you, Sakura-chan. And Neji-niisan and Nee-san!" Hanabi replied, looking a little put out.

Sakura looked around, it was after school, but Hanabi and Sakura had stayed behind at the training grounds to practice. She gave a small smile to the girl and put a hand on her head. "I know. Tell you what, how about I show you a secret that Sasuke, Naruto, and I used to perfect our accuracy?"

The girl's eyes widened before she nodded eagerly. "Un!"

Sakura's smile only widened as she stood up straight again and brought her hands up into a seal. The world around them shimmered and dissolved away for a long moment, before reshaping once again.

"Genjutsu, Sakura-chan?" Hanabi asked curiously.

"It's a special genjutsu. Here, try throwing a shuriken at the target." Sakura instructed.

Hanabi, curious, took a shuriken and hurled it at the target floating there in the subspace they were standing in. When it hit, it vanished, and two targets appeared in its place.

"Huh? I don't understand, Sakura-chan."

"It's an exercise course, Hanabi. The more targets you hit, the more that will appear. You hit one, now you have to hit two, if you hit them, three will appear. If you break the chain, you start over again. It's the quickest, fastest way we got good at hitting targets because we could focus on our weak points that way. We'd build up to hitting multiple targets, you see?"

Hanabi nodded with understanding. "I get it... Instead of trying to hit them all at once, you focus on hitting one or two at a time until you get good at that until you can move on, right?"

"Exactly." Sakura replied with a wide smile. "Go ahead and give it a try, see how far you get. It's okay if you mess up in here, time is slower here than in the real world. We could spend days in here until you're ready and only a few minutes will have passed in reality."

"Are you sure, Sakura-chan? You don't mind holding the genjutsu that long?"

"Well... I promised your family I wouldn't push you to grow too fast but I see no reason in at least letting you master the basics. We'll stay here until you think you're ready, okay?"

"Okay!" Hanabi beamed, before turning back to the two targets still floating there. She pulled two shuriken out and launched them at the targets, the two vanishing as they passed straight through the middle, only for three to reappear next.

This went on for some time, Hanabi training against the targets. She could hit up to four accurately, but she missed when she got to five with shuriken. She could only hit three with kunai, as the weapon was heavier and a little harder to handle.

She practiced for approximately three days in the genjutsu, all with Sakura encouraging and instructing her, also showing her tips and tricks to holding and throwing the weapons for an easier time.

The girl finally collapsed to her knees, panting. She'd finally hit all five targets with the shuriken and got up to four with kunai.

"I did it!" She declared proudly.

"You did, that's a very good improvement and didn't take you too long to get it, either. That is a very good accomplishment. Now that you've hit five targets with the shuriken, the targets will start over at one, but move back by twenty feet, and you start the exersize over again."

"Can we take a break for now, Sakura-chan? My arms are hurting. I don't think I could throw a shuriken that far yet."

The pink haired teen smiled. "Of course. Let's get out of here, shall we? You break the genjutsu, it will be good practice."

Nodding, the girl brought her hands up into the Kai seal and focused her chakra inwards instead of out. "Dispel!" She cried. The genjutsu shimmered once more, before disolving away to leave them standing in the training field as if they had never left.

"Do you want to train in anything else before we meet with your family, or shall we head over there to show them your new accomplishment?" Sakura asked.

Hanabi thought for a moment. "Um, Sakura-chan?" She asked in a small voice, looking down towards her feet, scuffing them for a moment in nervousness.

"What is it, Hana-chan?" Sakura asked, once again kneeling to the girl's height with a semi-concerned face.

"Well... Konohamaru's been flaunting off this new jutsu of his that he says he learned from Naruto-kun and I... I..." She looked down.

Sakura smiled in understanding. "Do you want to learn that jutsu, or do you want me to teach you a jutsu?"

Hanabi looked up at her hopefully. "Um... I want to learn that jutsu, but... I don't think father would approve of it."

Sakura smiled again. "Oh, I think he would if I explained to him how it can be used for something more than just pranks like Konohamaru and Naruto use it for. Even I use that jutsu on the occasion."

"Y-you do, Sakura-chan?"

"Of course. It's good cover for when you're on a mission, it's not a typical henge people can break or see through. It's good for intellegence gathering in other villages and good cover for espionage missions." She replied.

Hanabi smiled again. "I get it!"

"Let me show you the jutsu, I think you'll be able to get it in no time."

Sakura stepped back a bit and gave out a grin. "Only, this version of the jutsu is more practical, but I still keep the name, if only for Naruto's sake."

Hanabi nodded.

Sakura made a seal. "Oiroke no jutsu!"

There was a large puff of smoke that enveloped around Sakura's form. When it cleared, there stood a tall, lean, but muscular looking male in her place with short, but shaggy pink locks and her eyes had narrowed so her green eyes looked sharp and more focused and her face became more angular and she wore an edited version of her female outfit-a red midrift top with mesh underneath it to cover her midsection, flackjacket unzipped on her shoulders and instead of a skirt, now there were capri pants with wrappings around her ankles.

"W-wow, Sakura-chan..." Hanabi squeaked in awe.

Sakura smiled again before speaking. Her voice was low, but soft baritone sounding. "I use this jutsu when the element of surprise is needed."

Hanabi smiled. "So, how do I do it?"

"You make the seal like this," Sakura instructed, placing her hands into the seal. "Then you channel your chakra as best as you can around yourself tightly like you would a henge and invision how you think you would look like as a male."

Hanabi nodded. She placed her hands into the same seal and closed her eyes with focus and a small glow of chakra formed around her. "Oiroke no jutsu!" She copied Sakura and with another puff of smoke happened, surrounding her. When it wore away, she was standing there, still looking mostly like herself, but her body had changed a little. She was a little taller, her face was a little more shaplier like a male's. She looked like a younger version of Neji, Sakura thought with a inward chuckle.

"Did it work...?" Hanabi asked, her voice still quiet sounding, but it held a male's edge to it.

"Well, you still look like you, but male. Did you want that?"

Hanabi looked over herself, before taking a kunai out and held it up, her image reflecting off of the steel.

"...Not so much, but it's good for a first try, right...?" She asked, turning towards Sakura.

"A very good try." Sakura assured. "I heard Konohamaru's first try, he looked like a fat pig."

Hanabi giggled, bringing a hand up to stifle herself.

"So we'll say you've already one-upped him. Release the jutsu and try again. Concentrate hard on how you want to look, okay?"

Nodding, Hanabi released the jutsu as if she would a henge only to try again. When the smoke cleared, there was a definite improvement. Her face had angled out even more, her body took a more dramatic change, becoming a little more taller and more lithe-like. Her eyes narrowed out instead of being wide and her hair was sleek and long, down to her ankles and tied back neatly.

"Better?" She asked.

Sakura grinned, giving her a thumbs up. "Much."

Hanabi checked her reflection this time on the kunai and gave a satisfied nod.

"Shall we go show your family our progress like this?"

"Can we? They will be so surprised!" Hanabi gushed, eyes widening again with glee flashing in them.

Sakura chuckled and gave a nod. "Why not? I'd like to see the look on their faces."

Grinning widely, Hanabi grabbed Sakura by the hand and tugged at her. "Come on, Sakura-chan! Let's go surprise them!"

Laughing quietly, Sakura allowed the henge'd girl to pull her along.

Hinata, Neji, and Hiashi were sitting in the gardens, waiting for Hanabi and Sakura to show up, for they said they would meet them for tea-time so Hanabi could show them all her progress.

There was a rustle to the trees, and before the three could look, down jumped Sakura and Hanabi in their male forms.

"Boo!" Hanabi said, striking a pose that reminded Sakura so much of Naruto that she almost broke out laughing, but instead struck a pose along with her.

There was a long silence as the others looked at them long, blinking a couple of times to assure themselves that what they were seeing was real.

"Wh-what is this jutsu?" Hiashi asked.

Neji's eyes had gone wide when he saw and looked Sakura over, before he looked at Hanabi, realizing the differences.

Hinata squeaked and was blushing profusely.

"I was teaching Hanabi a jutsu to use when the time comes to gather intellegence or espionage. It changes the gender. Actually, the credit goes to Naruto for the jutsu, I just edited it a little." Sakura replied with a wave of her hand.

"...Don't tell me that's-" Neji started.

"...Oiroke no jutsu?" Hinata squeaked.

Sakura grinned. "Yes, it is. Just my style."

"Do I look different, father?" Hanabi asked proudly, turning around for him to completely see her transformation.

The man seemed completely speechless as to how to take in the information. He never approved of Naruto's oiroke no jutsu, yet here Sakura was, teaching it to Hanabi for a use other than pranks.

"...Indeed." He managed to say. "You do look different, Hanabi. You as well, Haruno-san."

Sakura smiled, before she released her henge. "Hanabi wants to show you all her other progress."

Hanabi's eyes lit up before she nodded eagerly, releasing the henge. "Un! I can hit all five targets with shuriken and four with kunai now!" She said proudly.

"That's... That's amazing, Hanabi-chan." Hinata said with awe.

"Impressive." Neji nodded.

"Demonstrate for us to see if you would, Hanabi. I'm eager to see your growth." Hiashi said with a small smile.

Hanabi nodded, turning. There were targets set up already so she reached into her pouch and took out five shuriken. Taking a concentrated breath, she threw them and they arced across the way before embedding themselves dead center in the targets. Next, she took out four kunai and with a careful flick of her wrist that Sakura showed her, they went sailing dead straight to meet the center as well.

The three Hyuuga's clapped.

"Very impressive, Hanabi." Hiashi praised. "You are growing very rapidly."

"Did Sakura show you the way to throw those kunai, Hanabi?" Hinata asked.

"Un! She said it was easier to be accurate that way, but it compensates some power because you're not putting as much force into the throw."

Neji gave a nod. "That is true. Nevertheless, the way you performed those throws were nonetheless ideal. Sakura, you've done a good job in showing Hanabi how to throw, it was her weakest point."

Hanabi flushed. "I told her that already..."

Sakura smiled. "Well, I just showed her a little trick the guys and I used, that's all. It didn't take her long to get it, really. She'll be ready to tackle the next tier of throwing by next week I'd say if we keep training this way." She gave the girl a wink who only bloomed with joy, a bright smile breaking out onto her face.

"I'm very impressed, Haruno-san. Tell me, how is it you managed to advance her so fast?"

"I promised not to make her grow too fast, but I don't see why she shouldn't master the basics. Shall I show you?"

"Please do, I'm curious to see your methods." Hiashi replied with a nod.

"Me too," Hinata spoke up.

"I as well."

Sakura nodded and brought her hands up. She formed the seal and brought them all to the space-time genjutsu world she, Naruto, and Sasuke created.

"A genjutsu? Hm... I would have never thought to use it like this." Hiashi hummed thoughtfully. "What is its purpose?"

Sakura smiled and turned to Hanabi. "If you would, Hana-chan?"

The girl was only too happy to oblige and pulled out a shuriken again. She threw it at the target and it disappeared, for two to appear. Those two vanished in instants as two shuriken sailed through them, before three. She got all the way back up to five and hit them all. They vanished and one appeared the twenty feet away than the normal targets.

"I see!" Hiashi said with a chuckle. "Very ingenious of you, Haruno-san."

Hinata stared with wide eyes. "That's impressive, you should suggest this form of training to the Hokage's. If they approved it, it would certainly speed the growth rate of the students be leaps and bounds..."

Neji nodded. "I agree. This type of training would be less tiresome. The students would learn accuracy quickly, then they could use that spare time to train in other things physically."

Sakura blushed. "I-I never thought of it that way..." She admitted. "I suppose I could run it by Shishou and Sandaime-sama."

"I am very proud of you, Hanabi." Hiashi said as he turned to his youngest daughter.

"T-thank you, father." Hanabi said with a low bow.

She was surprised with the man pulled her into an embrace and she smiled widely.

Hinata smiled, though it looked the slightest bit sad before it melted away. "We are all proud of you, Hanabi. You're going to become a great ninja."

"Indeed."

Sakura broke the genjutsu and smiled at them all. "Well, I gotta go train with the guys now. Hinata, Neji, I will see you later on." She bowed to them all and gave Hanabi a pat on the head. "See you tomorrow, Hana-chan."

"Bye, Sakura-chan!" Hanabi replied.

"Farewell, Haruno-san." Hiashi said.

Hinata and Neji waved her goodbye and Sakura left the Hyuuga compound again and made her way to Team Seven's training field.

There, she found Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi waiting for her. She grinned at them and gave a light wave as she walked up. "Hey."

"Hey, Sakura-chan! How did it go?" Naruto asked her.

Sasuke smiled at her and Kakashi hummed in her direction as his way of a greeting.

"It went very well," She replied with a smile. "Hanabi-chan's growing very quickly. Oh, and Naruto? I think Konohamaru has a rival other than you."

Naruto blinked. "Huh? A rival?"

Sakura chuckled. "Hanabi was jealous of Konohamaru having learned the Oiroke no Jutsu from you. Apparently, he flaunts it off in class all the time."

Sasuke snorted. "Sounds very familiar."

Naruto made a face. "Oi!"

Sakura smiled. "She asked me to teach her the jutsu."

"WHAT?" Naruto asked. "Did you?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Naturally. She mastered it quickly, too."

"Did her father approve?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"Only after I told him my reasons for teaching it to her and why I use it." Sakura replied.

"Which reminds me... Why /do/ you use it, Sakura?" Kakashi suddenly asked.

Sakura shrugged. "Well, if you must know... One day when Sasuke and Naruto were gone from Konoha-" Both of the boys winced and she shrugged again. "-We were low on male shinobi to use for missions.

There was a specific request from a client who required a male shinobi. I volunteered to Shishou about it. When she asked how I was going to pull it off, I used the Oiroke no jutsu to change myself into a male. Ever since then, when I was sent on intellegence gathering missions or an espionage or assassination mission, I'd use the jutsu so no one could pin it to me."

"Very clever," Kakashi replied, a little surprised. "And you have no qualms with turning into a male?"

"Why would I? It's not like I'm shy anymore. Being a medic-nin, I've seen my fair share of both male and female bodies."

Sasuke snort and mumbled something under his breath, which only Naruto heard and he started laughing.

"What'd you say /NOW/?" She demanded, cracking her knuckles at the two of them.

"I said: But we all know who's body you /want/ to see." Sasuke repeated with a smirk.

"UCHIHA, SASUKE!" Sakura screamed in rage. Letting her Inner Sakura out, she reared her fist back and punched the Uchiha hard, sending him flying through three trees only to hit the fourth with a hard crash.

Naruto gulped.

Kakashi sweatdropped.

Sakura dusted off her hands. "ANYWAY," She said, the finality in her voice left no room for anything else. "Being male to me isn't hardly any different from being female. Besides, there's some things only I can do as a male, and somethings I can do as a female-AND IF YOU MAKE ANY PERVERTED JOKE ABOUT THAT, I WILL PUNCH YOU-strength wise and the like."

Again, Naruto gulped and Kakashi sweatdropped.

"Still, I never would have thought of using it for those purposes..." Naruto finally said.

Sakura shrugged. "You have your purpose for the jutsu-I have mine. Either way, I taught the jutsu to Hanabi. She's already showing so much progress. I used our training jutsu on her to perfect her throwing, since she told me it was her worst ability and she's already drastically improved once I showed her a few tricks to throwing."

"Mm, she'll more than likely graduate early if she keeps it up." Kakashi murmured.

"I've been thinking about that... If she does graduate, I'm going to request to Shishou and Sandaime-sama to let me train her. I'll take her as my complete student." Sakura replied with a smile.

"You're fond of her, aren't you?" Sasuke asked, finally having returned from where Sakura had punched him.

"I never knew her very well last timeline. Now that I know her now... She's so adorable and she wants so badly to shine. I can see it, she has that drive. I want to help her achieve that."

"You've already taught her a lot, I'm sure they'd let you take her as your student when she graduates." Naruto said with a grin.

"I hope so. But for now, let's get to training." Sakura said.

The two nodded and Kakashi merely hummed again, leaving them to roll their eyes at him.

They went through their training, switching up who trained against who every so often so things wouldn't get repetitive. The three of them were demonstrating to Kakashi the usage of their Three Dragon Heads jutsu by the time the rest of the group arrived.

"Dragon Seal: Chakra Bind!" The three of them yelled, a triangle of chakra forming around Kakashi, effectively sealing him in place.

Kakashi glanced around at the barrier they'd created around him. When he went to try to move, he found he couldn't. Something was just rooting him in place, and at the same time, he could feel his own chakra rapidly draining fast.

"I see..." He said, visible eye curving up into a smile. "So you trap in a sealed barrier and drain them of their chakra... Very clever."

The three smiled, before releasing the jutsu, but the tri-connection of chakra still flowed about them.

Kakashi turned to the group who has just arrived. "Ah, it appears I'm to take my leave, now. We'll work more on this tomorrow." He said.

"Bye, sensei!" Naruto waved, with Sasuke nodding and Sakura smiling.

"Ja~" With a puff of smoke, he disappeared.

"Uh, guys?" Kiba asked. "What the hell was that jutsu?"

"More importantly, how is all three of your chakras intermixed?" Neji asked, his Byakugan activated.

"We developed it a few months before we went on the mission that...well, nearly killed us." Naruto said with a shrug.

"We needed a fast way to share chakra between one another, but without having to hinder our movements and ability. We came up with a solution of creating a blood jutsu."

"A blood jutsu?" Ino asked.

"I've heard of those," Shino murmured. "They're created by using the person's essence-their blood-to create a very powerful jutsu. So if the three of you used your blood together...then this particular jutsu must be very powerful."

"The Three Dragon Heads jutsu is inseverable, you cannot unlink the chakra strings that flow between us. We can almost symbiotically think as a collective conscious, know one anothers strategy while fighting so it won't interfere with each others, and because of the ability to pass our chakra back and forth to one another...it almost virtually makes the three of us hard to take down when it's active because we can give chakra to one another or take, if we need to." Sakura explained.

"Which almost makes us completely invulnerable. Not invincible, as we can still be worn down and our chakra while combined is very large, it will gradually wear down the larger amounts of chakra we use in jutsus. We used the jutsu to give Sakura enough chakra to use her Medic Jutsu that saved the Sandaime. That's why it affected all three of us." Sasuke added on.

"W-wow... That's amazing..." Hinata said softly.

"What was the jutsu you were using on Kakashi-sensei?" Tenten asked.

"Well, as we said, we can be defeated if we run out of chakra to share. We created a way to gain chakra back. If we use the Dragon Seal: Chakra Bind Jutsu to trap multiple enemies in it, we can not only seal them there, but we can also drain their chakra, replenishing ours." Naruto said with a grin.

"Very ingenious! The bloom of youth has blessed you three tremendously to come up with so many uses of that jutsu!" Lee boomed.

"I would like to see how the jutsu works, myself." Shino said, adjusting his sunglasses. "While I do not think I could defeat you three, it would at least give me an initial assessment of your true power."

"Un! Yeah, if you said you're not at your full powerful, then how powerful ARE you?" Ino agreed.

"Mendoukusai..." Shikamaru yawned.

"Powerful enough, I think." Chouji added on.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke looked between one another before shrugging.

"Want to test us out? We can take you all on this way and show you all how the bond works. That could be your teamwork training for the day!" Sakura said.

"Heh! I'll pound ya into the ground! Fancy-shmancy jutsu or not, with the rest of us against you, we can probably take you down!" Kiba said arrogantly.

"I wouldn't underestimate them, they have so much more knowledge and experience than us." Neji warned. "But still, I would like to test this bond out. Can it withstand the chakra-severing Jyuuken?"

"Why don't you come find out?" Sasuke challenged with a smirk.

Looking between one another, the group all nodded and decided they would try.

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura all got into defensive stances.

"Saa~ Come on, let's go, dattebayou! We'll take you all on!" Naruto cried.

"We'll see about that!" Ino cried as she made the first move and dashed forward, and everyone else sprang into motion behind her.

And so the battle began.

Ino did a zig-zag dash, mimicking Kiba before she performed a swift set of acrobatic moves as she flipped and did a cartwheel-roundoff and swept her leg low, aiming to sweep Naruto off his feet. The blond jumped up and over around her almost miliseconds before she could connect and instead used one foot to vault up and off of her shoulder, sending her stumbling face-first to the ground as he used to momentum to launch himself forward, hands forming a seal.

"Kage-Bunshin no jutsu!" A Naruto clone popped up above him and he grabbed its hand, and it spun around, hurling him across the field in the direction of Shikamaru who was trying to sneak around behind to get a shot at trapping them with the Kagemane.

"Take this!" He cried, throwing a punch towards the lazy shadow user.

Before he could, Tenten was infront of him, slamming the end of her bostaff into his stomach, grunting with effort as she reversed the momentun Naruto had built to send him slamming into the ground. Sasuke was behind her and slammed his elbow into her lower back and swept her legs out from under her before he did a sideways flip to avoid some kunai being thrown by Hinata.

Chouji was barrelling towards Sakura, but she just cracked her knuckles in response. Just before he slammed into her, she held out one finger and completely stopped his momentum. With a wide grin, she flicked him and he went completely flying backwards and slammed back into Neji, knocking them backwards a good thirty feet. Lee leaped for her next, swinging punches and kicks towards her. She managed to block them, catching Lee by the leg when he went to kick her in the jaw and she saw Shino advancing towards her and instead, flipped over Lee and dashed straight for Shino, rearing her fist back. "SHANNAROU~" She cried.

"Gaia Crusher!" Hinata cried and used Sakura's own jutsu against her to envelope her in the earth-dome before she could reach Shino.

Before she could crush the jutsu in on her, Sakura slammed completely through it with a punch, shattering it completely.

Sasuke's sharingan activated and he was easily dodging and parrying everyone's attempts to hit him. Naruto wasn't so lucky, having taken a couple of hits, but he returned every one of them two-fold with his clones.

Sakura ducked under a swarm of kikai from Shino and closed the distance. "Jekkenhou!" She started, causing Neji and Hinata to stop their attacks, jaws dropping.

"Hakke: Rokujyuuyon Shou!" Sakura slammed her hands repeatedly against Shino's body, completely sealing his tenketsu points.

Sasuke smirked when Ino, Kiba, and Tenten all dashed for him. Out of nowhere, his shadow animated and he jumped up, shadow wings forming behind him and he flew up above them, his shadow casting over them. "Kagemane no jutsu!" His shadow caught the three of them. He took out a Kunai, wrapped an exploding tag to it and threw it down onto where his shadow was, disconnecting part of his own shadow to it. "Shadow Stitch!"

The exploding tag went off and sent the three of them flying in different directions.

Naruto grinned as he formed a Rasengan and slammed it into the ground, using his Shichi no Kaze jutsu to trap Lee and Chouji within it.

At seeing that more than half of them were out of comission, Hinata, Neji, and Shikamaru stopped their attacks.

"I see." Neji murmured. "So you are very coordinated and powerful."

"We could hardly lay any hit, if at all, on them..." Hinata said softly.

"...And even used some of our own moves against us." Shikamaru added on.

Sasuke landed, shadow wings disappearing sinking back down into his shadow. Naruto willed the jutsu to die off, and Sakura was already unsealing Shino's tenketsu and had created a few earth clones of herself and they were healing everyone else who'd gotten injured.

"Damn!" Kiba complained. "We couldn't even lay a hit on Sasuke."

"Naruto purposefully left himself open for some of our hits, but he uses the element of surprise best that way to take advantage of our arrogance in thinking we're ahead because we've hit him..." Tenten mumbled as she weakly dusted herself off.

Ino groaned. "I still can't believe we lost that easy, though."

"That's why we're going to help train you guys up to become stronger." Sakura said once she'd finished healing everyone and dispersed her earth clones.

"Now, I want you all to think over this battle. Though you were using teamwork, there were some major flaws. I want you all to talk it over with yourselves and tomorrow, we'll try again." Sasuke said.

"To best us, you all must become as close-knit as Sakura, Sasuke, and I are. You have to almost know each other inside-out." Naruto said seriously.

"Let's call it a day for now, though." Sakura suggested.

Nodding, the others began to walk off from the training grounds.

"Damn, they're so powerful..." Ino said with an almost hushed awe.

"We completely underestimated their abilities." Lee agreed.

"Let's not make that mistake again, guys." Kiba said.

"But how?" Hinata asked.

"Let's head to the other training field," Neji suggested to them. "We've still got some time before evening, I suggest we do as they said and work on our teamwork. What they said was true: we won't be able to beat them unless we are familiar with each other's style."

"I agree." Tenten nodded.

"This is troublesome..." Shikamaru mumbled.

"Hn." Shino hummed, mouth quirking in mild amusement.

"We've got to rely on ourselves to grow, not just let them show us." Chouji said around his chips.

"Exactly." Neji agreed.

They all began heading towards Team Eight's field.

Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke were sitting against a tree, gazing up at the sky.

"You think they'll take us seriously next time?" Naruto asked.

"If they don't, we're gonna have to beat it into 'em." Sakura replied.

"You just want an excuse to flick someone again." Sasuke teased.

"Shh, don't tell them that!" She teased back.

Naruto chuckled. "I think things are gonna get interesting for a while, watching them grow in power and as a team."

The other two chorused an agreement.

They spent the rest of the day reminiscing together before heading back to their homes at dusk.

* * *

**DHC: **And that's all for now. Hope you all liked it. -hearts-


	24. Chapter 19

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** Hee-hee, a new chapter for all of you. I hope it's worthy!

* * *

Again, the weeks passed; the group had managed to slip into a training rutine against Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke. They had yet to manage to corner any of them, but they were showing definite improvement in their teamwork style. Training was interrupted as Sakura was called for a mission to be paired in a team with Izumo and Kotetsu and sent to investigate a strange rumor in the north, and Sasuke was sent on a recon mission alone.

Naruto was silently fidgeting by himself on the swingset in the afternoon, trying his hardest not to think of what could be happening or the like.

So many things had changed, and so many minor details had been overlooked-could something bigger have come about from them? What if something happened to them? Would he be able to know?

He was grateful for the distraction Iruka provided him when the older man invited him to ramen.

"You're very worried about them, aren't you? The missions aren't even that high rank." Iruka reasoned.

"Yes, but anything can go wrong," Naruto replied sagely, slowly picking at the noodles before taking a large bite. "I mean... There's so much that can be overlooked, or done wrong... I trust those two with my life, but individually, we aren't a whole unit and that's where my fear plays in. If I'm not there, how can I help?"

"You worry too much, Naruto-kun." Iruka said with a smile. "But your concern is well placed, especially when you've been with those two for so long. I can understand. I kind of feel that way about all of my students when they graduate and become genin. I feel as if I've come to know them so well that when it's time for me to let them go... I worry. I worry about their future."

Naruto smiled broadly as he slurped some broth up. "You won't have to worry about us, Iruka-sensei! I'm gonna be the best Hokage there is and make it so you won't have to worry about anyone getting hurt, dattebayou!"

"Sou ne," Iruka chuckled, ruffling the younger's hair. "But first you have to get there, so hurry up and eat, you'll waste away if you don't." He teased.

"Oi!" Naruto cried, before grinning. He picked up the bowl and began to scarf the food down at his typical rate, feeling a little better at Iruka's words. He'd keep that promise. He'd worked so hard before, he wasn't going to let this moment of inner fear stop him from accomplishing that. Fear was the deception that would lead to anger and that anger would then blind and sear the heart, leading it to pain, and that pain would consume the very soul. He wasn't going to let that happen to himself, or anyone he loved. He would stop it, and bring about peace, even if it took his dying breath to do so.

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei!" He cheered when he finished and set the bowl aside. "That was great!"

"What, no seconds or thirds today?" Tha man asked, astonishedly.

"Nah, not today. I'm on a tight training schedule. Miko-chan gets angry if I slack off my diet, it's been helping me so far!"

"Maybe that's exactly what you've needed, someone to pace you." Iruka chuckled.

"Hey," Naruto whined. "So what if I'm a bit excessive? At least I'm getting stronger! I'll plow my way up to the top my own way! My path is my own, but that doesn't mean it's easy! Miko-chan's just really concerned I'm over doing it with my calorie and starch intake and limited me to my ramen. She's been making these great bento's that she says are more balanced out, and they seem to be helping! I've got twice as much energy as I can remember." He gushed, waving his hands about for emphasis.

Iruka chuckled again. "I can see that. I'll have to thank Uchiha-san, since you seem to be in a more healthy shape."

"Yep! Well, gotta go now! Thanks again, sensei!" Naruto cried, giving the man a bear-hug before charging off boisterously towards the Hokage tower.

"What is it now, Naruto?" Tsunade asked with a weary smile.

"Nothing, just, can I borrow jii-chan for a bit?" Naruto asked with a pleading look.

"What is it that you need me for, Naruto?" Sarutobi asked with a chuckle, puffing from his pipe.

"Well..." Naruto frowned a little. "It's just... So much has happened recently, I haven't had the time to spend hanging out with you, and... Well, you're like the closest thing I have to a grandfather, I just... Well..." He stuttered, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I just...wanted to hang out?" He excused lamely.

Tsunade and the Sandaime exchanged a brief look before Tsunade gave a small nod to her sensei and smiled. "Of course, Naruto. You and Sarutobi-sensei should take some time to spend together, it has been a while. I'm sure I can find a way to manage all of this paperwork somehow... Or fandangle Shizune into helping me." She added with a wry grin.

Naruto gave a laugh, but he wasn't envying Shizune's position any by the looks of the stack of papers sitting on both of the Hokage's desks.

"Very well," The man said with a kind laugh before he rose from his chair and brushed his robes off and maneouvered around the desk to join the blond. "I could use the fresh air."

"Yatta!" Naruto cried happily and like when he was a kid, all but rushed out ahead of the man, leaving him to chuckle and follow along at a slower pace.

"Listen, jii-chan, I've got a question to ask you." Naruto asked once they reached the Hokage monument and casually sat himself against the railing, looking out over the village serenely.

"What is it, my boy?" Sarutobi asked, stepping up beside the other to look out over the village as well.

"Well..." Naruto looked a little apprehensive. "In my life, and I don't mean this one," He began softly. "Things were rough. I mean, really rough. Now that I'm here, this life is so different... Things seem to be mostly going my way. That's...a little scary for me, you know? I've never known a time before this one, where things were just...smooth sailing almost. I don't know how to really deal. Look, I just wanted to say... Well, um..." He looked towards his feet, shuffling them.

"I just wanted to say that I'm glad. I'm glad that you're here. In the other life, Orochimaru killed you, and I..." He shook his head fiercely. "I had never stopped to think about how much I really did have, until that funeral... I thought I'd had it so bad, but that moment, I realized how selfish I was; how there was so much I could have changed, or done... But this time around, now that you're here, I feel like... Like I can smile easier, knowing that maybe I'm not so selfish; because I'd watched how Konohamaru, and Asuma-sensei grieved for you, and here I was, some orphan that just wanted a short-cut to being liked in life. I just wanted to tell you...thanks. Your death in that timeline, and your life in this one, it has meaning, and that meaning is what will always drive me to become better. The question I want to ask you, is one that is very important to me."

The Sandaime took all of Naruto's words in with a slow, gentle understanding, before he spoke again. "If it is within my reason and ability to answer, I shall." He replied with a slow, small smile.

Naruto nodded seriously. "I would like your approval of me to train for a month in the Grove of Silence."

Sarutobi's brows shot up for a long moment. "The Grove of Silence? That place...has not been used since-"

"I know," Naruto replied solemnly. "Not since my father, and the battle with the Kyuubi. I'm asking you because I need to train, badly. I can't let my full powers lose with the others here, it would scare them. Though they know I am what I am, I cannot let them see just exactly how powerful I am yet. But I'm not at full strength, either. I'm at a complete standstill in my growth. I need to push myself in a place I know there are no inhibitations."

The Sandaime sighed softly, looking back out over the village for a long while in silence, simply contemplating and mulling what Naruto said over.

"I am guessing sending Jiraiya or someone with you is out of the question?"

Naruto nodded. "If you seriously want Ero-senin to be there, then I guess I won't complain, but... I was going to just take Kurama with me as a precaution and train by myself."

"Hmm..." The man took a puff from his pipe and continued to stand there in silence for a while.

"I will need to discuss this further at length with Tsunade, but I do not see why not." He finally answered. "I know you can be trusted to master the energies and power that lie within the Grove."

Naruto smiled a little. "Thank you."

"Come now, my boy. Let us head back, I'm sure you have other plans in mind than to pester an old man like me," He chuckled wryly.

Naruto laughed heartily. "Actually, not really, but I guess I could think of something along the way." He replied merrily.

Laughing as well, the Sandaime and Naruto headed back down the monument and back to the Hokage's tower.

Naruto saw the man back to his desk and gave Tsunade a kiss on the cheek after making a comment about the ink marks across her forehead and ducking one of her super punches, he left the office and began to walk down the street again, deciding he'd go keep Mikoto company for the rest of the evening since he knew she was surely worried for and missing Sasuke and Itachi, since both were out of the village at this moment.

He had to wonder, if that's how his mother would feel about him, if she were alive. If she'd be worried about him, or confidant that he'd come home. Or maybe a mixture of both. Mikoto Uchiha was a strong woman, a shinobi of her hown calibur, he was sure she was confidant in them both, having full faith in their abilities, but he could easily see the shimmer of doubt, and worry that imprinted itself inside of her when she thought he wasn't looking.

He loved the woman dearly, she had become like a surrogate mother to him in all sense of the term. Whenever he had troubles or inner fears, she seemed to know and could make them go away, she went out of her way to spoil him like she would Sasuke, but she was still very strict and stern with him when he tried to slack in his training. He smiled fondly when he reached the Uchiha estate and knocked gently before poking his head in. "Miko-chan? Are you home?"

After a moment's rustling, her pale visage came into view and she smiled warmly at him. "Hello, Naru-chan, come in. I wasn't expecting anyone today, so please don't mind the mess." She excused.

Naruto's brow rose as he slipped in and toed his sandals off. "What mess, Miko-chan? Your house is cleaner than mine will ever be!" He exclaimed with a laugh. She gave him a bright smile and a small chuckle. "I suppose that is true, but your house is not the most ideal." She replied with a small frown.

She didn't approve of the way the village condemned him to live in such a place. If she had it within her power, she would have taken in Naruto years ago. However, it was not her place. She may be the Uchiha Matron, but that was through marriage only, and Itachi wasn't quite old enough yet to assume full Clan Head responsibilities. She sighed heavily, the politics of the village only made her angry when she thought about it, so she pushed it from her mind for the moment and smiled again at the blond. "Make yourself at home, is there anything I can get you? I made some sweet tea just a moment ago, would you like some?"

Naruto thought for a moment as he followed the woman towards the kitchen."I can try it, I guess. I've never been one for tea, though." He answered.

Mikoto laughed. "Yes, I know. Here, let me fix you a small cup and you can decide for yourself if you like it or not." She answered before she went about the kitchen, fetching a cup and went about preparing the tea while Naruto watched her in small amazement at her fluidity and grace; he again, had to wonder if his mother would have been the same way, poise and graceful, or if she'd be erratic and clumsy like he was when it came to such things?

Soon, the woman set a cup infront of him and the smell was oddly pleasant. Usually, tea had his nose curling but this smelled just fine. He picked the cup up and brought it up to his lips when he tasted it, he tasted nothing at first, just the warmth of water, followed by a tingling, minty sweet flavor he couldn't describe. After another moment, he sipped again to make sure it was the same. Sure enough, it was.

He set the cup down and smiled at the woman who was watching his reaction curiously. "It tastes minty sweet. It's nice," He replied to her. She giggled. "I'm glad you like it, then. Sasu-chan doesn't care for it and Ita-chan's so busy lately, we haven't had time to have tea together. It gets rather lonely sometimes..." She trailed off whistfully, her eyes going glossy, before she smiled strongly at Naruto. "But I know what's done was for the good of the village, so I do not mourn much for the passing of the rest of the clan, be as it may."

Naruto could see the undying strength the woman possessed. Though she lost her husband, and many she had come to consider family, she would gladly keep things the way they were now, because to her, all that mattered in her eyes were the well-being and safety of her children over the selfish ideals of a clan that may as well have had no humanity left. He set his cup down gently a rose, he stepped around the table and drew the woman in carefully and hugged her. "Miko-chan, loneliness is only temporary, but the strength you have will last you forever. I'm so glad to have come to know you, because you have been the mother I lack, and I respect you greatly and I would do everything in my power to make it so you would never have to be lonely."

Mikoto's eyes misted at his words and a shudder went through her body before she found herself hugging the teenager back, holding onto him tightly as if he were a lifeline. "Thank you, Naru-chan... You may not be my son by blood, but you are in my heart as one. I am happy enough to see you, as well as Sasuke and Itachi flourish and become strong. It brings me so much joy to know that you all hold the values of life and love closer than many others ever do." She replied.

"Don't feel bad for my moment of weakness in feeling alone, there will always be a time and place that it will leave me. I will keep pushing towards that time, but for now it's my duty as a mother to see that the rest of you are taken care of, first." Naruto sniffled, feeling his heart squeeze at how strong she really was and he could feel his love for this woman growing more it was almost unbarable at how much he could feel she loved him. "Thank you..." He whispered.

"There's no need. It's a parent's job to worry about their children, isn't it?" She said through a watery smile. Naruto's eyes glossed over, the echoing words of his father running through his mind. 'Well, it is a parent's duty to believe in their child unconditionally.'

"...Yeah, I guess it is." He replied after another moment, brushing his own tears away. "Pour yourself some tea, Miko-chan, let's just sit together, okay?"

"That would be wonderful." Mikoto replied softly, before she let the blond teen go and went about fixing herself some of the tea. Naruto sat back down at the table and stared at his own tea for a long moment. Such a thing felt so foreign to him, but...so right at the same time. It was such an odd feeling, this type of easiness settling into his system. The peacefulness that reigned when the woman sat herself across from him and took a sip of her tea casually.

He rose the cup to his lips. Maybe...maybe this was what he'd been looking for all along. He took a sip as well, and they fell into a comfortable silence and did not speak until both were finished.

"Would you like more?" Mikoto asked. He smiled and shook his head. "No, I think the caffiene is already starting to kick in." Naruto answered with a small laugh. "I should start heading home, I think it's going to be a long night."

She smiled kindly and gave an understanding nod. "Perhaps that would be wise, knowing your own limit. You're welcome to come back if you find yourself sleepless, I do not think I will be sleeping much tonight, there is much to be done. The next chuunin exams are coming, and..." She hesitated with a small smile. "I requested of the Hokage's to be a proctor."

Naruto's eyes lit up with surprise and delight. "That's great! I'm sure you'll have a lot to prepare for, then! I'll be sure to come back if I can't get to sleep, but I'm gonna get in some late night training before I do hit the hay."

She nodded again. "Oyasumi, Naru-chan."

He gave her one last hug before making for the door, putting his sandals on. "Night, Miko-chan!"

He slipped out the door and made his way back to the gates. He let himself out and began walking towards the training field.

When he reached it, he was surprised to find Kurama waiting there for him.

"It's about time, brat." The demon entity snapped agitatedly, before sighing, brushing their hair back over their shoulder.

"Huh? Kurama? What're you doing back so soon? I thought you were going on walkabout?" Naruto asked confusedly.

"I was, but this is more important! Now shut up and listen: I encountered the Akatsuki."

"What?" Naruto cried.

"Shut up, fool! Do you want to wake the village?" Kurama growled.

Naruto bit his lip, looking worried. "Did they know it was you?"

"Not as far as I could tell, but they seemed to know I was from Konoha, according to them when they approached me. They were asking for information on you. They were two figures that I'd never seen before. They were not like the other Akatsuki members."

Naruto's brows furrowed. "Not...like...?" He asked.

"They were female, but they were unmistakibly Akatsuki." The orangy-haired demon replied.

Naruto fell silent, frowning. "And they were asking about me?"

"Yes, they appeared along the border of Suna, inquiring about you. When I refused to acknowledge them, they tried to give me chase. I lead them far away from Konoha before I warped back here. I suspect they will be very angry if we ever meet again," He chuckled wryly.

Naruto nodded. His eyes went glossy for a long while. The Kyuubi caught sight of it. "...What is it, brat?" He asked.

"Kyuubi, you know me well enough to know mostly what I'm thinking, so tell me, will you help me train in the Grove of Silence?"

The demon went silent for a long while. "...I will give it some thought. I cannot say for sure right now." He answered.

Naruto nodded solemnly. "I understand."

"I have to go report this to your Hokage's, so they will at least be aware that the Akatsuki is on the move, but I thought you should know first." Kurama said after a moment's hesitation.

Naruto stared the demon in the eyes for a moment before nodding. "Thanks. You better go, baa-chan isn't the most lenient when she's awoken." He snickered.

Kurama snorted. "I know." With that, the demon was gone in a red flash.

Naruto sighed heavily, looking up towards the stars. "One thing becomes clear, and another, clouded..." He mumbled to himself with a deep frown. "Why must the currents of life be so treacherous?" He asked aloud to no one before shaking his head. He decided he'd start his training and called up ten kage-bunshin and began to work on his technique development.

It was mid-morning that the rest of his friends found him passed out standing up, a kage-bunshin clone still conscious and was still training, despite everything. It dispersed when the others told it they'd watch over him.

He awoke to the concerned faces of his friends, but despite their concern and worry, he found himself smiling.

He smiled, because he knew this time around, he'd make every minute with them count.

It was a promise.

* * *

**DHC: **I hope you all like this, I tried very, very hard at maintaining a more mature, and self-thoughtful Naruto.


	25. Chapter 20

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** Oh my god, I finally update after how many months? I'm so sorry, fans. I really didn't mean to keep you waiting, but my real life took ahold of me for a while. Rest assured, though, I am hoping to kick back into top gear again soon!

* * *

Sasuke had returned three days ago and Naruto about tackled Sakura when she returned with Kotetsu and Izumo and bear hugged her. It had been two extra weeks that she'd been gone, though Tsunade and Hiruzen both had assured him they were fine because they got word from them about the investigation taking longer than expected. Still, he was relieved and overjoyed to see her. She smiled wearily and gave him a knock on the head affectionately. "I'm okay, Naruto. Really. Just tired. I need a decent bath and some rest. First I have to give a report to Shishou and the Sandaime, though. I'll catch you tomorrow, okay?"

Naruto beamed brightly. "Okay! You get some good rest, Saku-chan, you need it."

She smiled tiredly again and gave a nod before she motioned for Kotetsu and Izumo to follow her towards the Hokage's manse and they were gone in a flash, leaving Naruto to continue on his way out of the village. Tsunade had told him there was a small caravan a few miles out of the village and he asked her if he could visit it. She only laughed and gave him the go-ahead.

He set out at a good jog until he reached the small hill that overlooked the camp. He grinned brightly before he made his way down the road. The travelers all watched him come up before one walked out a bit to greet him.

"Hi!" Naruto said brightly.

The figure was a woman, middle aged. She had reddish hair and brown eyes. She gave the teenager a small smile back. "Hello there, young man. What is it we can do for you?"

Naruto blinked. "Oh, oh no. I don't need anything, I just came from Konoha and was wondering if you guys needed anything! It can be dangerous out here in the road, do you need someone to look out for you while you stay?"

The woman only chuckled. "My, you are generous. But I can assure you, we are quite fine. Many of us were ninjas ourselves."

"Huh?" Naruto blinked.

"We gave up our ranks or became rogues and left our villages to take up the road. It can be quite a tough life, just making enough ends meat to get by, but many of our elders were quite the ninja." She explained.

Naruto smiled. "Oh, I see." He thought for a moment before smiling again. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Naruto! Namikaze-Uzumaki, Naruto."

The woman laughed, her eyes twinkling with kindness. "I see! Hello, there, Naruto. My name is Reimia."

"So... I have a few questions. What exactly does your caravan do? I know we have a couple pass through in the fall and they perform for us in the village in a festival." Naruto asked.

Reimia chuckled. "Well... We are mostly a trading caravan, we trade, buy, and sell goods that we've picked up along the road. Sometimes, we pick up rarities. Ancient scrolls, shinobi artifacts, things like that. Most of the time, being as we mostly come from from Ninja villages, we tend not to sell them, but collect them."

Naruto nodded before asking interestedly, "That sounds really neat. I'm trying to become the Hokage. Is there any way I could learn from you and your people?"

Reimia tilted her head and thought for a long while. "Hmm... That is an unusual request." She said after a moment, before smiling. "How about we make this a trade, then?"

Naruto blinked. "A trade? What do you want in exchange?"

The woman smiled again. "Nothing much, we are but a simple clan. You see, we have only few young this spring cycle and they lack guidance as many of them became orphaned during a bandit raid,"

She explained. Naruto's eyes darkened and morphed to something extremely soft as he nodded.

"I would ask if you could possibly ask your Hokage to foster them. While it grieves us dearly to know we will be losing some of us, we know they will grow up in a better lifestyle than they could from living with us, as many of us are too old to be parents again and care for such children. Do this for me, and if your Hokage agrees, I would gladly have my people share what knowledge they can with you, alright?"

Naruto looked at the woman seriously with a nod. "I was an orphan, too. I understand what you are wishing to provide the children with. I will ask my Hokage's, I'm sure they will approve. I will return as soon as I can with your answer!"

The woman smiled hopefully. "Thank you, Naruto."

The blond turned and gave the redheaded lady a wave. "I'll be back!" With that, he began to run back in the direction of the village.

It didn't take him long to get back to the village and plead Reimia's case to Hiruzen and Tsunade.

"Please, baa-chan, jii-chan!" Naruto cried, whirling around to pace towards the window.

"Naruto..." Tsunade sighed heavily.

Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe. "I can understand why this would concern you so much, however... I still am unsure."

"What's there to be unsure of? They're kids. Kids with no parents, no family. They shouldn't be turned away just because they're outsiders!" His blond hair swayed as he turned his head to look out the window, eyes glossing over as he gazed towards the hokage monuments again. "...No child should have to suffer like that. Here, with us, at least they could grow up a little better than they would out on the road..."

The two Hokages looked towards one another, then back to Naruto's still form, each wondering exactly what was going through his mind at that moment with that far-off look in his eyes.

Nartuo broke away from the window another long moment later, the glossy look in his eyes fading as whatever it was he was thinking, was hidden once more. "...Please. I can't find it in myself to turn away someone who asks such a personal thing of me. It hits me too hard." He murmured quietly, looking down to the ground.

Tsunade hesitated, biting hard on her lip. She glanced towards her sensei, looking for some kind of sign. She wanted badly to tell Naruto yes, hell it was hard for anyone to resist the gaki, but she found it to be especially hard when he got serious. As it were, she knew she let the teen get away with more than he should, both her and Hiruzen did-and that got on the council's nerves-which half of the time was why she did it, the other half was genuinely because she adored the blond brat.

Finally, Hiruzen gave out another sigh. "So be it. I will begin the paperwork."

Tsunade got a grin to her face. "I'll go alert the council and keep them at bay. Be quick and discreet about it. Who knows what they may try to do."

Naruto's face morphed to a thankful, relieved grin as he gave a serious nod and was out the door in a flash.

The two Kage's looked at one another with knowing smiles before they went about their newfound tasks, Tsunade leaving the room, her thundering voice being heard summoning her assistant while Hiruzen went about getting the paperwork started for the Orphanage.

Naruto sped back to Reimia at full speed and soon came to a full-skidded stop infront of her.

She rose a brow. "You're back so soon?"

He gave her a weak lopsided grin. "They said yes," He wheezed.

Her eyes widened, she had been expecting an outright refusal, which was why she'd been worried inwardly when she saw him return so soon.

A smile broke out onto her face. "Wonderful," She said joyfully. Now, the children could be placed under better care and protection than she and the others of their group could provide.

She turned. "Children, come here!" She called.

A small group of seven came forward. Four boys, three girls. Their ages varied, as Naruto viewed each one. Two looked to be around ten, both boys, an eight year old, a girl, a six year old, a boy, and three four year olds, a boy and two girls.

They came to a stop beside Reimia and were looking at Naruto in wonder. He gave them all a bright, warm smile in return.

"Children, this is Naruto. He is a Shinobi from Konoha. You will be going with him to the village to live." She said softly.

The two oldest looked ready to protest, but the three youngest nodded, not really knowing any better.

"But-" One of them began.

"It is for the best," The redheaded woman said softly, her eyes downcast looking. "Please, do not argue. Your lives will be easier and more prosperous there than you will ever be here. Konoha will protect you."

The oldest two finally gave a nod.

Reimia nodded and turned towards Naruto. "Please, take care of them."

Naruto gave her a serious look. "I swear on my life." He promised.

Bringing his hands up, surprising the seven children, six kagebunshin appeared.

"Alright, each of you will go with one of my clones and I, it will be safer this way."

The children nodded. Three of his clones picked up the three four year olds and took off at a run towards Konoha. The clone with the six year old, they headed out at an eager pace. The eight year old grabbed Naruto's clone by the hand and all but began dragging it off.

That left the two boys.

Naruto gave them a grin and motioned for them to follow him and his clone.

He stored all of their looks and names away from the information he received from his clones before asking the two their names.

"Seki," One said. He had ocean-blue eyes with white hair that was braided back to their waist.

"...Kaze." The other replied, their voice monotone. He had short-ish deep violet hair with matching fuchsia eyes to off-set it.

"Seki and Kaze," Naruto repeated before giving a nod. "Got it. I'm Naruto, I'll be taking you to the Hokages!"

"So what rank are you?" Asked Seki.

"Chuunin. But my dream is to become Hokage like my father was!" Naruto replied with one of his fox-grins.

"Your father was a Kage?" Asked Kaze, his eyes alight with curiosity.

"Yep! His name was Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime!"

A soft gasp came from Seki. Naruto gave a curious glance towards the boy. "T-The yellow flash?" The boy asked.

"The very same." Naruto replied.

"My parents... They were from Iwa. They talked about the Yellow Flash a lot, how great his powers were. They spoke with scorn, but admiration, too." Seki explained.

Naruto's eyes softened. "I'm sorry for what happened during the war," He apologized.

Seki shook his head. "It wasn't my war, I don't hold any feelings one way or another. I wasn't raised in Iwa, either. I don't harbor feelings of hate towards Konoha-or any other village or nation. My parents may have been in the war, too, but they told me the past was best left behind. Especially when they left Iwa to join the caravan."

Naruto nodded, feeling a little admiration of his own. "You had good parents, I'm so sorry they died. I wish I could have met them, simply just to thank them for how you've been raised. I was an orphan. Growing up practically alone, every one despised me."

The two blinked at him. "Despised, Naruto-san?"

"Please, none of the -san business. Just 'Naruto" will be okay, or sempai, if you feel you must." Naruto smiled at them.

"Okay, sempai!" Seki and Kaze chorused.

"Anyway, yeah, I was despised. Y'see, the demon Kyuubi of the Ninetails attacked Konoha. My mother died just after I was born, and my father, the Yondaime, sealed the demon inside of me to protect the village. Ever since, a lot of the village has hated me, thinking I'm the demon, or it's my fault and whatnot. But, I can't hate them or blame them for it, because if it were me, I probably would have been the same way, too. But, things are slowly changing. I'm making a name for myself. I'm doing everything I can to show them that I'm Naruto, not Kyuubi. I won't stop until I've won everyone over and become Hokage!" Naruto exclaimed proudly.

Both of the children were looking at him with wide eyes as he spoke his tale.

"W-wow, sempai!" Seki breathed, sounding awed. "You have a demon?"

"Yup. His name is Kurama and if you want, you can meet him. He won't attack anyone, he promised me and I can instantly re-seal him into me if he ever tries anything. But right now, we're agreed he can be free in a human body so long as he doesn't kill a person unless they try to kill him." Naruto replied.

"That's really kind of cool, Naruto-sempai." Kaze replied. "Our parents had been giving us basic training to protect ourselves, but we don't really know anything about being shinobi."

Naruto smiled. "Well, I'll see about getting you, and the others if they want, enrolled into the Ninja Academy once you're settled in! I know one of the teachers personally and I help there a lot, too, so you'll be able to get caught up in training easily!"

The two let out a cheer simultaneously and Naruto and his clone smiled all the wider. "First, we have to get you to the Hokages." Naruto and his clone stopped them, giving the both a grin. "Hold on to me and my clone and we can get there faster."

Nodding eagerly, the two grabbed ahold and the clone and Naruto took off in a flash of speed the rest of the way to the Hokage's manse.

It took an entire day of sorting through paperwork for the children, and they were to be placed in the orphanage, but Uchiha, Mikoto stepped up to the plate once she heard from Sasuke, who told her when Naruto informed him and Sakura, about the children and offered to be their caretaker.

All three were in awe of the woman when she introduced herself and immediately won their affection by offering treats and a home-cooked meal.

Sasuke stood in the doorway of the kitchen with Naruto as they watched the woman whisk about the kitchen with grace, giving each child a plate full of food and dessert.

"This is good for her," Sasuke murmured to the blond.

Naruto smiled a little. "She's been lonely, they should keep her quite busy." He agreed.

"Hn... I find myself a little jealous, but..." Sasuke looked seriously towards the blond. "At least I know I have my mother."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "That's true."

"Boys," Mikoto's voice rang and both looked towards her.

She smiled widely at them, the light shining in her eyes, her apron was stained terribly from all the confections and food, but she looked perfectly content. "Come join them, I made enough for you, too!"

The two teens glanced at one another, before the children who were looking at them and Naruto was the first to respond. "Of course, Miko-chan! I wouldn't pass up your cooking for anything!" He laughed.

Sasuke followed after his teammate to join at the table as Mikoto served them both the same as the other children.

"Naruto-nii?" Asked the four-year-old girl. She had dazzling green eyes and the lightest blond hair. Her little cherub cheeks were rosy with health.

"Yes, Dezi-chan?" Naruto replied with a grin. Her name was Desiree, but Naruto had already given her a nickname that she positively beamed at.

"Who is this?" She asked, looking at Sasuke.

"This is Sasuke, my best friend, and my teammate. He is Miko-chan's son." Naruto replied.

"Oh." The girl replied, before flashing her six pearly whites at the Uchiha boy. "Hi there!"

Sasuke's lips twitched before a small smile rose to his face. "Hello." He responded.

"This is Dezi-chan! And this is Itami-kun," He motioned to the other four year old beside her, who grinned, all with cake smearing over his face he had black hair like Sasuke's, but it fell completely straight and was shaggy over his eyes, but specks of jade could be seen from beyond the curtain of hair.

"And Suki-chan." The last four year old shyly ducked her head and waved her fork in Sasuke's general direction. She was redheaded and her eyes, when she risked a glance at the Uchiha, were grey-toned.

"And we have Ketsu-kun, and Mara-chan." The six and eight year old respectively bowed their heads and said hello. Ketsu had light brown hair and hazel eyes and Mara had teal-coloured hair with black eyes.

"And last, Seki-kun and Kaze-kun." The ten year olds looked Sasuke over critically before they both nodded and gave their own greeting.

Sasuke's brow arched at all of their reactions before nodding. "It's nice to meet you all..."

"Are you shy?" Dezi blurted.

Sasuke blinked rapidly at her. "Huh?"

"You're really quiet. Are you shy like Suki-chan is?"

Naruto was having the time of his life stifling his laughter, likewise, Mikoto was hiding her smile behind her hand.

"No!" Sasuke replied. "I'm not shy."

"Then why are you so quiet?"

"He's observant, Dezi." Seki replied knowingly. "He's like Ketsu."

"Oh... Sorry." She replied.

Sasuke shrugged.

"Sasuke's not used to having to share his mom and house with anyone," Naruto said.

Sasuke shot him a glare, and Mikoto tried her hardest not to giggle.

"Oh, Mikoto-chan's your mom?" Itami asked, looking between Mikoto and Sasuke.

"Yes."

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Mara then asked.

"I have my brother, Itachi, and I guess you can call this idiot here family, too." Sasuke replied as he elbowed Naruto in the ribs.

"Oi! 'M not an idiot, you cockatoo!" Naruto replied boisterously which had some of the children laughing at the name he called Sasuke.

The Uchiha's brow was twitching madly. "Usuratonkachi...you have exactly five seconds to start running." He threatened in a low voice.

Naruto sweatdropped. "Uh...ehehe, sorry Miko-chan, gotta go!" He cried before he dashed wildly out of the room with Sasuke hot on his heels.

There was silence as the children watched, before they all burst into giggles.

"Naru-nii's scared of Sasuke-kun!" Ketsu snickered.

Seki and Kaze were having the time of their lives laughing because after all the boastful talk Naruto did, now it was ruined because of Sasuke.

Suki was giggling into her hands so hard her entire face was red.

Itami and Dezi were holding onto one another laughing and Mara was snorting.

Mikoto chuckled. "They argue and fight, but they're really close."

"Poor Naru-nii," Suki replied.

"But he's right, Sasuke-kun does kind of look like a cockatoo." Mara replied with another snort.

"Don't let him hear you say that!" Seki warned.

Kaze snickered.

Mikoto laughed. "He prides himself in his hair."

"You mean he purposely makes himself look like a bird?" Itami asked incredulously.

"No, that's just how his hair is. But he takes pride in his looks." Mikoto replied, thoroughly amused at the children's discussion of her son's hair.

"So what does his brother look like, then?" Ketsu asked.

"Well," Mikoto hummed thoughtfully, hand under her chin as she tried her best to describe her oldest son. "Itachi is tall and slender, has long dark hair pulled back into a low ponytail so it won't get in the way-"

"He looks like a girl?" Dezi outburst, her eyes going wide.

At this, some of the older children broke into peals of laughter.

Mikoto once again had to chuckle, wondering exactly how said son would react to hearing them consider his features feminine.

"He does have effiment beauty, but all Uchiha's do in some form or another, but I assure you, he looks masculine as well." Mikoto replied.

"An Uchiha, Mikoto-chan?" Suki quietly asked.

"Our clan." She replied.

"Oh."

"I didn't see any other besides you and Sasuke-kun, and you mentioning Itachi-san." Ketsu pointed out.

A small pained look passed across the woman's features, and she was quiet for a moment before she replied. "That's because they are dead now, Ketsu-kun."

The boy's face shadowed and he glowed with shame. "O-Oh...I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. You didn't know. You see, the Uchiha clan was planning to betray the village, so the Sandaime ordered the execution of all the Uchiha's involved-which was the entirety of the clan except myself and my two son's." She explained carefully.

"...Isn't it lonely, Mikoto-chan?" Dezi asked.

"Very lonely, sometimes." The Uchiha Matriarch confessed, before pushing a smile on her face. "But I wouldn't change it, because my son's are safe and I would never have met and accepted Naru-chan."

"Why not?"

"Because Naru-chan isn't very liked in the village, and he's trying his hardest to change that. I, in the past, had been one of the ones to scorn him. But, when I earnestly met him and saw how much of a joy he really was, well..." She got a motherly glow to her with pride as she spoke about the blond. "I took him in my heart as one of my sons."

There was a sniffling sound and Suki was crying. "Oh, dear... What's wrong, Suki-chan?"

The girl sniffled. "N-nothing... J-just... I'm so happy hearing this... Naru-nii is so nice, and it...it makes me wish I had my family back."

Multiple nods met the child's admission and Mikoto felt her heart squeeze, but at the same time, grow for these young ones. She warmly knelt down beside the girl and pulled her into an embrace. "Thank you. Naru-chan is my son at heart, and now that you are all here in this house, you are my family, too. Never forget that. I will look after each and every one of you as best as I can, and Naru-chan will be here, too. And, given some time, I'm sure Itachi and Sasuke will come around, too.

"You're not alone. With time and age, you'll make more friends here in the village and then they will be like family, too. Konoha is a tree, a big tree, and with it, there are many branches and leaves; we all make up that tree and we are all apart of one another as such. When you walk about town, know that you are never alone. You have the village."

There was even more sniffling all around, the younger children outright bawling and the oldest ones sniffling quietly into their hands. Mikoto motioned for each of them to gather around her and with as much reach as she could, drew them all close to her, fussing over them like only a mother could.

Once all the children were settled once again, she helped them each to their rooms, the three youngest sharing a room, Ketsu and Mara sharing an adjoined room (there was a wall and door separating the room), and Kaze and Seki got their own, being the oldest two.

"Tomorrow, we will go out shopping to get you clothes and get you prepared for the academy." She told them. "Sleep well," She kissed each of them on their forehead as she tucked them all in.

"Goodnight," Each one of them replied to her. She flipped the lights out of each room and quietly closed the doors one by one before making her way back down the hall to the kitchen where Itachi sat in his ANBU uniform at the table, sipping on a cup of tea.

"Ohayou, kaasan." Itachi greeted quietly.

"Hello, Ita-chan." She said fondly, taking a seat across from her son.

"There are new presences within the house," He commented.

"Yes, they are orphans Naru-chan brought from a traveling caravan. I volunteered to be their caretaker." She replied.

"Hn," Itachi hummed thoughtfully for a moment. "That will be good for you, you've needed something to spend your energy on." He commented.

She gave him a wan smile. "Perhaps I did. Now that you and Sasu-chan are grown up, I've found myself to be at an impasse. Maybe these children will be what I need to get back into shape."

Itachi gazed at his mother, before shaking his head. "You always amaze me, kaasan..." He murmured softly.

"Oh?" She questioned, brow raising. "Why is that, Ita-chan?"

He gave her a small, but warm smile in response. "You have a different type of strength about you, and I have always admired that about you. Naruto-kun has that same type of strength, too."

She smiled back. "It's the strength of heart, Itachi. You have it, too. It's just hidden. But maybe someday you will find out for yourself, when you find someone to love unconditionally for who they are."

He gave her a small nod, taking her words in for a long moment before he stood. "I'm retiring, I have another mission tomorrow."

She frowned in concern. "So soon? You just got back."

"Don't worry," He assured. "It's not a dangerous mission, I'm being sent to escort Gaara and his siblings here again."

"Oh, well that does ease my worry a bit." She said with a quiet chuckle.

He smiled again. "Oyasumi, kaasan." He said.

"Goodnight, Itachi." She replied.

The male turned and silently exited the kitchen, she couldn't even hear his footsteps in the hall. She was proud of how powerful he'd become, able to move so silently and precisely. Yet, she was also ashamed that she hadn't been nearly as attentive to him as she had been Sasuke. But despite that, she loved him with all her heart.

She checked the clock. She supposed she should be getting to bed, too. It was going to be a long day in the morning.

Three weeks passed since Naruto had brought the seven children to the village, and two weeks since they had joined the academy.

Iruka gladly gave them extra attention and lessons after class upon Naruto's request. It made some of the other kids jealous and envious, especially when Naruto and Sakura joined in on helping them. Konohamaru especially. He was glaring right at Seki and Kaze who were, naturally, at the top of their class range. "Why do they get special treatment! They're not as awesome as me!" He complained loudly.

"Konohamaru, you're still barely able to make passing grades!" Iruka admonished. "Seki and Kaze need the extra lessons because they're new and they deserve a fair chance!"

Konohamaru's face heated up brightly as a lot of the class snickered upon Iruka telling him he was still the dobe of the class.

"Hmph!" He replied, crossing his arms.

"The only thing you're good for is that jutsu Naruto-kun taught you!" Hanabi sneered. "And I already can beat you at it! Why don't you just sit down and shut up, dobe!"

"What'd you say, Hyuuga?" He roared.

"Enough!" Iruka yelled, effectively breaking them up before it even began. "That's enough! Everyone quiet down and open your books to page sixty-two!"

Sneering again, Hanabi turned her back towards Konohamaru and opened her book.

Konohamaru stuck his tongue out at her, flopping back down into his seat defeatedly.

Seki and Kaze were mostly unaffected by the boy's outburst, but they were a little bothered by how the other could just immediately assume things about them.

Suki was so shy, but she was a bookworm and eagerly dug into the books she was given, despite her young age. Itami, and Dezi were more hands-on, much to Iruka's chagrin. Ketsu was observant and quiet, but he was very smart and easily made above passing scores on the tests, but when it came to the physical expectations, he was a little lacking. Mara excelled in the physicals, able to henge and make a bunshin only after several tries and her throwing skills were top notch. Her bookwork and tests, however...she could use some improvement.

Naruto finally had time away from everything on the fourth week from training with the caravan before it left and helping with the academy when Tsunade and Hiruzen both approved him to go to the Grove of Silence to train by himself.

"Well, fox? You coming?" He asked to the demon when he was at the gates, his gear packed up with him.

The fox snorted, before giving a sigh. "I suppose I should, who knows what kind of trouble you'll get yourself into." He muttered.

Naruto snorted. "Then let's get going."

He turned to look one last time at the Hokage monuments, his eyes lingering on the image of his father's. He was going to do something to _make _Konoha acknowledge him!

Turning, he began his trek towards his destination. There, he would be able to fully unleash his true powers and hopefully, come back with proof to show for it.

**TBC**

* * *

**DHC: **Oh god this was long for me. I've been out of shape in writing. Forgive me for taking so long!


	26. Interlude 6

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** Um... I really went out on a limb with this chapter, but I really like how it turned out and I hope you all enjoy it, too!

* * *

Naruto's eyes were narrowed with concentration as his body stood perfectly still, save for his rapidly moving arms and hands. Chakra swirled around him as his hands made sign after sign in a countless string of complicated, long thought out seals. The theory was simple; it was the end result that varied.

No other living soul, save a few daring animals were there in the large forest clearing to witness the blond finish the seal with a large bloodstain dripping from his thumb as the pattern on the ground began to glow with life. No words were said, as there was no need for him to hear them.

The glow brightened, nearly a blinding white as the seal opened and the tall blond stood there, the chakra-enforced wind whipping around him with hurricane force, yet he stood there as still as a rock, refusing to bend his will. Slowly, a large figure rose from beyond the seal, black, ghastly looking, a large katana in what could be said as their hands.

"Who has summoned me?" The Reaper boomed, their voice otherwordly, yet deep.

Naruto stood there, small compared to the likes of the being he had just summoned.

"I have." He answered softly, but unfearingly. "I am Uzumaki, Naruto. The very one the Yondaime sealed the Nine-tails into."

The Reaper stared down at the blond. His eyes looked over the blond hair, the face and eyes that bore great resembalance, to the determined look in their eyes. There was a long silence before he began to laugh; it shook the trees, and rattled throughout the ninja's bones slightly, but he did not waver.

"Ah! The irony, the very child of the Yondaime has summoned me... Oh, this is just grand."

A small frown came to Naruto's face, but he remained silent.

"Well, then. What is it that you have summoned me for, child." The Reaper's voice was tinted with heavy amusement.

"I've summoned you," The blond replied, standing even taller if possible, shoulders unslouching further and looking more dignified. It only served to make the young ninja look that much more like his late father to the other figure.

"To offer you freedom."

There was silence again. Then, another loud roar of laughter from the creature.

"Hahahaha! You offer to free me, the very one that took your father's soul?"

The blond's lips quirked to a small grin filled with irony. "I do," He replied.

"Hahahaha! You entertain me, boy. But surely you jest."

"I do not. Reaper, I offer to you myself. You may reside and live inside my body as one with me; show me the powers beyond the mortal realm and open my eyes and mind to the things I lack for I wish to become strong enough to understand the workings of this world."

The Reaper's hold on their katana faltered and it fell to the ground with a large boom that shook the ground and trees around. There was a long silence between them, the summoned being staring down at the blue-eyed teenager that ever dared to offer him such a thing. He had not seen that boldness since-

'Ah... He is much his father's son. So it is not just skin-deep...'

"...And what do you wish for in exchange of this barter?" He asked slowly, cautiously.

"Nothing." Naruto replied softly.

"Nothing?" Their voice was incredulous. "You jest!"

"I don't. I will allow you to dwell within me, to show you the ways of a mortal, in exchange for you teaching me about the other world and the powers that be and the likes that govern this world." Naruto's voice had not wavered, and he stood there as a stone, his eyes hard, but soft; determined, but passive. Honest to a fault, filled with knowledge, experience, and understanding.

"But there is one thing...one very thing I wish for... I ask-no...I beg," Naruto's eyes had narrowed slightly as if fighting emotion as he slowly lowered to his knees and bowed deeply. "I beg of you...to return the Yondaime's soul to me. To release Namikaze, Minato from his bounds to you and allow him to return to this world."

"I knew there was a catch," The Reaper responded after a moment.

"No," Naruto said, raising his head. "I meant it when I said I wanted nothing in return. I will still allow you my body. But... I do not deny that I had at one point wished to use this exchange for his soul. I have lived these years buried in hell but tortured by the sweetest graces. I have learned the value of love and of life, I've felt the sorrow, the hate, the joy and love of everyone around me. I want to protect those precious to me and the village I love. I have lived as my father wished of me. I do not demand or even daren't ask. No, I beg of you as a mortal soul to return that which I never knew, but love dearly to me."

The Reaper was silent for a long time and the blond continued to kneel upon the ground, bowing, igroveling/i. Uzumaki, Naruto, while unyielding to those in life, knew his place as a mortal and valued respect of all. The only way he knew of expressing respect to such a being was through humility and unworthiness. Even he would bend his knee to a force he would not trifle with.

"You are a wise human, like your father... You know your place. I am weary of harboring souls and making pacts with mortals. Your wish, I will grant. On the condition of you coming up with a way to seal his soul in this world again!" The summoned figure replied, picking up their fallen katana.

Naruto's eyes widened, lightening by a shade or two. "I have already deigned a way for it to happen by releasing the Kyuubi, which is the very reason I came up with this thought," He admitted.

"You are crafty, I have no doubt since you possess many qualities of your parents. What is the method you stumbled across?"

Naruto slowly stood and formed his hands into a familliar seal. He didn't need to announce the name as a clone popped up. "A simple clone, with a few twists of my own. I looked for a way to make my kage bunshin's longer lasting. So I created my own seal with my blood that made them as durable as I am. They will only disappear with a fatal hit. I also released the Kyuubi into a clone's body, sealing it so it will only disperse with my own death, or if I dispel it, myself."

"Ah... Hahaha... A seal master, eh? I see you take after the Yondaime more than just in apperance."

"My teacher is Jiraiya, the toad sannin, the teacher of Namikaze, Minato. I, too, studied seals after I fully understood the beauty of the seal I bare and all its inticracies."

"You've learned well, if you say this to be true."

Wordlessly, Naruto turned to his motionless clone and started making a long series of seals, before biting his thumb and spread his blood on the awaiting clone's stomach, over the copy of the seal before pouring chakra into it. "Life-String seal!"

The clone wavered for a moment, from the instability of chakra for a moment before righting themselves again and stood motionless once more, waiting for their command and simply breathed quietly.

"Ahahaha, ingenious. Very ingenious. You are well versed. Very well, then I shall release your father's soul from inside of me and in return-"

"Yes... In return, you may reside inside of my body, and I will allow you to be one with me, so long as you show me-"

"The workings of the world and the powers beyond mortals. I shall."

A smile slowly rose to the demon-containers face. "Deal, then."

"Deal."

The hair's on Naruto's arms began to stand on end as he felt even more power rise from the Reaper. A nervousness settled in the pit of his stomach, but he did his best to ignore it as he waited. He knew he would have to bind Minato's soul to the clone's body and in order to do that, he had to have his timing and concentration precise.

The clone beside him trembled just the slightest, as it shared all of Naruto's thoughts and feelings. It understood well what was going to take place, and didn't seem to mind the slightest that it was to be used as a binding for Naruto's father's soul. However, the same nervousness that held onto Naruto had also inevitably held onto him as well.

He turned towards the clone the moment he felt the Reaper's power rise to its peak, there was a crackling of energy all around and within another moment, a large aura of light blue shone.

"Seal it, quickly!" The Reaper commanded.

Nodding, knowing he had to be perfect, Naruto quickly began flying through the seals rapidly, the aura of Minato's soul was quickly pushed into the clone as Naruto slammed his hand directly over the seal on the clone. "Soul bind!"

Making yet another quick set of seals, the seal on his own stomach twisted and unlocked just a little further, he winced with pain as bright yellow poured from it and into the clone, mixing with the blue aura and Naruto collapsed to his knees from the pain he was feeling of unlocking another part of the seal. He'd unlocked the layer the Yondaime had sealed his own chakra into, he had not been expecting the sheer pain he'd receive from it.

The clone however, was taking on a rapid transformation similar to the one the Kyuubi went through. The body grew, blond hair growing out a little lengthier, the whisker-marks disappearing and when all was said and done, Namikaze, Minato's visage was mirroring back at Naruto. Despite the pain, Naruto launched himself forward, catching their falling body, the man was still asleep.

"Did it work completely?" Naruto asked the Reaper.

"It would seem he needs to recover energy from being re-sealed into a human body, I believe he will awaken within a few hours." The Reaper replied.

Naruto looked relieved. "That's...good." He gently set his father's body down, producing a blanket from a scroll he carried on him and wrapped him in it, as his father's form was now bare.

He stood up again, looking up towards the Reaper. "Do you want me to bind you into me, or is there another way?" Naruto asked it.

The Reaper merely chuckled. "I can reside inside of you without the need of seals. I will be like another conscious inside of you. You will hear me speaking, and in turn, you may speak back through your mind. My powers will slowly filter in through your body. You will gain similarities to a...kekkei genkai, as you mortals call it. We will focus on that when the time comes, however."

Naruto nodded, a small smile coming to his face. "Alright. Let's do this!"

With a nod, the Reaper shimmered a faint silver color before he disappeared and the glow enveloped Naruto.

Bracing himself, Naruto was expecting pain or some sort of tickle or hell, even to pass straight out from the force, but, nothing like that happened.

He felt cold suddenly, a chill swept up his spine, making goosebumps form over his arms and his hair on the back of his neck stood on end-it was like be'd been thrown into freezing cold water suddenly. But as soon as that feeling came, it was gone, and when he brought his focus back to the outside world, he realized his vision was...different.

He could see spectral shapes swirling about the air, could hear the faintest of voices echoing through the trees. It was very unsettling.

_'Relax,'_ He felt the Reaper's voice resound throughout his mind. _'You are merely experiencing some of my power already. You are able to perceive and hear the dead. You are seeing the remnant chakra residue left behind by the shinobi who died here during the Kyuubi attack. The voices are theirs, imprinted here because of it.'_

Naruto gave a small nod. _'Can I learn to block it out?'_ He thought back.

_'With time,'_ The Reaper answered._ 'For now, I will hold the power back until you are ready for it.'_

Naruto watched as his vision blurred for a second and when he blinked, the shapes and voices stopped.

_'You should seek shelter for yourself, and your father now, child.'_ The Reaper suggested.

_'Right. I'll call Kyuubi.'_

Naruto brought his fingers up and whistled a shrill note. There was silence for two minutes before, in a red flash, the Kyuubi appeared in his true form. He'd made himself smaller, so as not to attract attention, but he was in his fox form in all his nine-tailed glory.

Kurama's eyes widened when he saw the Yondaime. "You were successful," He said, sounding vaguely astonished.

Naruto snorted. "Yes, and you actually seem surprised."

"I didn't think that the Reaper would actually bargain with you." Kurama replied.

"We didn't bargain. I just asked."

That seemed to surprised Kurama and he began laughing. "Why does that not surprise me anymore?"

"Because I'm awesome?"

That got a snort from the fox. "Let's get back to camp, brat."

The blond nodded with a wide smile and picked his father's unconscious figure up before he placed a hand onto the Kyuubi's fur. In a red flash, the two were back at the campsite Naruto had set up. There was a freshly killed doe lying beside the fire, waiting to be skinned and gutted. He grimaced a bit at the thought, but he went to his tent and laid his father down, covering him with his extra blankets before setting about to preparing the meal. The demon was content to chew on an over-grown hare he'd caught as well.

After two hours, Naruto had completely skinned and gutted the animal and was now cutting the meat from the bone and placing a few of the steaks over the fire to cook. He was lost in thought, still processing everything that just had transpired. He'd brought his father back, he couldn't stop the smile on his face that overcame him. He'd have his father now, but that was not the reason he'd brought him back... The smile dimmed down to a near-grimace as he gazed into the fire, his heart squeezing tight for a long moment as a memory replayed itself inside of his head before he forced it away.

Now, the village would hopefully recognize his powers, more importantly, recognize him. And hopefully, his father's return would bring a smile to Jiraiya and Kakashi's face.

_'You give too much for mere mortals.'_ The Reaper murmured.

Naruto sighed._ 'I guess I do. I love them, I know they don't love me, but I want them to smile and have a reason to live. If I can give them that, then I'm happy, too.'_

The Reaper was silent for a long while. _'...I do not understand,'_ He finally admitted.

The blond smiled a little. _'Well, since you're with me, you're probably gonna find out fast a lot of the things I do aren't exactly understandable to beings beyond mortals. It's called humanity and compassion.'_

The Reaper made a thoughtful, humming sound, but did not reply. Naruto finally took the steaks off the fire approximately ten minutes later. He was about to begin eating, when the Kyuubi's ears twitched and the demon's red eyes turned to him. "Your father is awakening."

Naruto nearly bolted over to the tent in excitement.

Minato stirred, he was aware that something was different. He was no longer floating in a vast void, but rather just lying still. He could hear rustling, the loud crackling of a fire, that didn't seem right... The last thing he remembered was falling into unconsciousness as the Reaper absorbed him. Instead of feeling cold, he felt rather warm.

He let out a sound, surprising himself that he heard it. Wearily, he opened his eyes. He was staring up at the ceiling of a tent. That wasn't right, why was he alive? As he pushed himself to sit, he searched through his memories, trying to explain why he was in the realm of the living. As soon as he hit the end of his memories, a million others suddenly washed and flooded through him, new ones that were not his. The last one being...

"Dad?"

His eyes wide, his head snapped over to see the face of his son, Naruto.

"Naruto...?" He asked.

The boy grinned widely. "Sure is."

Minato sat there in stunned silence for a long while, replaying the last few memories of Naruto's, processing that he was revived inside of Naruto's clone, that his son had made a deal with the Reaper, and... As he slowly traced the memories back, it began to make sense. Finally, his eyes turned towards the teen again, looking pained.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked concernedly.

Wordlessly, the man pulled the teen over and enveloped him in a tight embrace. "I'm sorry, Naruto."

"Wh-what? Why?" Naruto asked.

"I'm so sorry that you felt you had to bring me back because of them. And I'm sorry I wasn't there for you in your life...I'm not talking this one."

Naruto stiffened. "You...know?"

"Of course, I'm in your body, technically. Your memories are here, too." The Yondaime answered sadly.

Naruto didn't reply, instead looking away.

Minato hugged his son tightly again before releasing him. "Where's the Reaper?" He asked.

Naruto looked back, giving a faint smile and tapped at the temple of his head. "Here."

"So you really released the Kyuubi?" He asked.

"Don't talk as if I'm not here, you impudent human!" Minato's eyes widened and snapped over to make out the silhouette of the fox outside the tent.

Naruto scowled. "Can it, furball!"

The demon grumbled out a few curses directed at the boy, but settled back down to gnaw more on the hare. Minato looked back at his son with a raised brow. "You seem to have done a lot in your lifetimes."

Naruto snorted. "That is an understatement, dad."

The man let out a weak chuckle, running a hand through his blond strands sheepishly. "I guess it is."

Naruto turned towards his pack and dug around before pulling out some articles of clothes and tossed them to his father. "Here, they're yours. Get dressed. You hungry?"

Minato caught the clothes and stared at them, nostalgia overtaking him for a long moment as he realized that indeed, they were his clothes, including his personal Kage-overcoat. He looked back towards his son and gave a small smile. "I could eat," He agreed.

Naruto grinned back and exited the tent to give the man his privacy and get out an extra plate of food for him.

Minato took that moment to look himself over. He looked exactly as he did before, but the only difference that showed that he was truly in his son's body, was the seal that laid over his abdomen and the littering of a few scars that were not his own. He traced a particular one that started to the right side of his chest and suddenly a memory came to him of Sasuke with his Chidori through him. He could almost vividly recall the pain and memory as his own, but he knew it wasn't. He let his hand drop and stood, making to get dressed.

Five minutes later he exited, dressed and sat down at the fire as Naruto smiled at him and handed over a plate.

He accepted it gladly and wordlessly began to eat, still sorting through his son's dual memories.

The fox looked a little on edge, his nine tails kept trashing every so often and Naruto seemed to notice. "You can go for a while if you need, fox."

The ninetails didn't speak, but his eyes flashed with gratefulness and he took off into the forest, disappearing from sight.

Minato stared at the spot the demon was before looking to Naruto. "I take it he still hasn't forgiven me?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. If he hasn't, he'll eventually come around."

The Yondaime smiled; his son really did have a way of changing people's views of the world.

"Besides," Naruto continued, interrupting the man's trail of thought. "He has to admit, being sealed inside of me by you was better than having to live under Madara's spell for the rest of his existence."

Minato stared, a little shocked at his son's statement. After a moment, he started to outright laugh. "That is true,"

Naruto finished his last bite of food and cleaned the plate off. "I've got a whole month to train here and I was hoping you'd help. Besides, I'm sure you'll need some time of your own to readjust." He said seriously.

Minato sobered quickly and looked up towards the sky. "Yes, I probably will. And of course, I'll help you. What kind of a father would I be if I neglected my own son?"

Naruto's eyes flickered with something before he looked down towards the ground, a small smile coming to his face. "...Thanks."

Minato realized then in that moment just how much he had truly missed and a surge of guilt hit him full force. It made his stomach churn. He finished eating in silence.

Naruto went back to the tent, and when he returned, he was carrying a small black box. He handed it to the man wordlessly. "Forgot, it's yours, too." He explained.

Minato blinked, opening the box only for his eyes to widen as his Hitai-ate glinted back at him in the dim light of the fire.

Carefully he extracted it from the box and brought it up to his forehead and tied it securely around his head before looking back to Naruto with a nod, the teenager smiling in approval. "Now you're you."

"So I am." He replied.

Naruto stretched, it was dark, and he glanced up at the moon to judge the time. "It's getting rather late, ne? We should rest. I've got to do a buttload of training to get back up to my former strength."

Minato's mind swam with memories of Naruto's prior life, comparing it to this one. "I suppose you do. You're barely at a quarter of your former power."

Naruto groaned. "Don't remind me."

The man gave a quiet chuckle. "You go rest, I want to stay up a little longer. Recenter myself, yes?"

Naruto nodded in understanding. "Goodnight, tousan."

Minato nodded. "Sleep well, Naruto."

The blond boy shuffled off towards his tent, closing the flap behind him and Minato got up from the ground and walked over to a tree, he put his hand against the bark, feeling its rough texture, silently amazed that he was once again living and breathing. He stepped away from it and continued walking, leaving a small glowing seal behind on the trunk of the tree where his hand had been.

He tested his body out by taking off at a run, kicking into top speed. He was fast, but not as fast as he had been. He poured chakra to his feet and sped up even further. He supposed Naruto wasn't the only one who was not on par. But then, he was in Naruto's body, it had just been altered to re-take his soul and to an extent, some of his chakra. He leaped up onto a branch of a tree and flipped to the next, catching another branch and swung to the next, feeling newfound excitement and energy coursing through his system as he went along. He leaped down once he reached the center of the forest, entering into a clearing.

There, he was surprised to find the fox demon.

The Kyuubi turned its head towards him, brow raising, before turning back wordlessly.

Minato calmed his energy down and walked the distance between them and came to a stop beside the entity, staring up at the large moon.

"The brat really cares about those morons." The demon murmured, his ninetails waving about.

"I know," Minato replied softly.

"It angers me to know he did it for their sake instead of his own. He's needed you more than they do." The demon continued, eyes narrowing.

Minato was silent, his eyes darkening in remorse.

"At least he had the Uchiha woman this time," The demon finally admonished after a long bout of silence.

Minato reached through Naruto's memories to find the smiling visage of Mikoto Uchiha in them.

"I thought you didn't approve of the Uchiha's." He replied wryly.

"Bah, the lot of them can go to hell, and most likely, did, but Madara's still existing and the brat of an Uchiha turned it around. I don't really have an opinion of the other, and the Matriarch...she's different than the rest of them." He sniffed, "A kindness not unlike the brat's. She's willing to go above and beyond what she's capable of to make him happy."

The Yondaime relived some of Naruto's memories, finding himself more than a little grateful to the Uchiha lady and her devotion to his son. He smiled a little. "I'll make a note to thank her."

The Kyuubi finally turned its head towards the man, eying him critically. "You've got your work cut out for you, Namikaze."

The man barked out a laugh. "You're not kidding."

The demon snorted. "While I still haven't quite forgiven you, I know the brat needs you. So I'm willing to put that aside. That being said, I want to test your strength."

Minato looked the demon in the eyes seriously and gave a nod. "I'm not as strong as I was, given that this is Naruto's body, but I will give you my all." He answered.

The fox seemed pleased with that and gave a nod, standing up from where it had been haunched and turned, walking away several feet until a red glow enveloped him and he was standing in his humanoid form, making Minato arch his brow.

"My demon form is more or less for looks now, unfortunately." Kurama murmured. "And I'm sure this is a fairer fight if I'm in the brat's body. We've both got around the same chakra levels, I can't tap into all my demonic powers since the majority of my chakra is still sealed in the gaki."

Minato nodded in understanding. Both he and the Kyuubi were sealed into a clone of Naruto so they both had around the same capabilities as him. It would just be a matter of who could utilize their skill better. "Very well." He replied, dropping down into a stance. "Shall we?" He frowned when he realized he did not have his weapons on him, but he supposed that would not really matter. Still, being without the use of his trademark Hiraishin would be a bit harder.

Kurama nodded and immediately red chakra overtook him and all of his ninetails manifested before he leaped for the man, starting the beginning of their fight.

Minato dodged to the side of the demon, getting a hand on their arm and twisted, throwing the redhead off in another direction. He didn't get away unscathed, though, as the demon's other hand lashed out and caught him against the shoulder, tearing through the fabric of his clothes and leaving a deep gash. He didn't waste time in forming two Rasengan's and charging headlong at the recovering demon.

Kurama sensed it coming in his blindspot and his tails whipped out, knocking Minato sideways, effectively making the Rasengan's die out. He turned around and began to make seals of his own. It was annoying for him, to have to use said seals given that he did not have to when he was in his demon form. He inhaled and when he exhaled, fire spouted from it in a typical Housenka jutsu.

Minato rolled and sprang from the ground just in time to avoid it. His own hands formed a jutsu. Upon completion, a torrent of water spouted up from the lake that was nearby and a water dragon roared, heading straight for the demon entity.

The Kyuubi's tails all formed around him like a protective shield and the water dragon crashed into it, not even fazing the demon and the water soon turned to steam thanks to how potent the Kyuubi's chakra was. The demon imparted some of Naruto's tactics and brought his hands together and created ten clones and sent them barreling for the man.

Not going to be the only one using Naruto's techniques, Minato relied on his son's memories to guide him as he charged forward at the clones, throwing only half-charged Rasengan's at the Clone's managing to take out two when two of the Rasengan's collided together and exploded. He formed a large Rasenshuriken and threw it at the remaining clone's.

It took out two more since the other clones scattered. Kurama tackled him from behind, swinging a punch at him that hit his shoulder, knocking him forward. Minato flipped onto his hands as he fell and kicked back, successfully feeling his feet connecting with the demon as he launched himself around and flipped away, righting himself just in time to dodge an incoming volley of fire and mini-rasenshurikens from the clones.

Kurama was more than pleased with how Minato was performing, it had been a long time since the demon had had a challenge. Pouring all of his concentration onto his next move, he made another clone and had it launch him into the air where he began to pour the majority of his chakra into his jutsu. He formed a giant Rasengan, but it began to crackle with lightning and fire roared at the center. He threw it like he would a ball straight for Minato.

The Yondaime's eyes widened, but he didn't panic. Instead, he waited, calculating. At the last moment as all the clones barreled for him, he disappeared in a flash of yellow light as the Elemental Rasengan struck all the clones.

Kurama was cursing and just as he was about to sniff the air to find where Minato was, he let out a startled yelp as a heel collided into his middle back, sending him rocketing forward. He realized too late that when Minato had thrown him earlier, he planted a Hiraishin seal on him. However he rolled with the impact and whipped around, crouching onto all fours and in a burst of energy, tackled the blond, tails sharpening into points like daggers and poised back to stab the Yondaime.

Minato only gave a smirk and the demon realized in that moment that he'd been had. The body of Minato exploded and the demon cried out as the real Minato leaped out from the lake, hands forming another set of seals. He knelt and touched the ground, the grass twisting and reshaping, braiding together before binding Kurama down where he laid.

The demon laid there, stock still for a long moment, before his body began shaking as he started to laugh.

Minato's brows arched at the demon's reaction, slowly standing up and the grass released the demon. Kurama rolled over onto his back to face the man that had bested him yet again. "Well done, Namikaze." He said as he pushed himself to stand. "You've won this one."

The man gave the demon a small smile. "For now, but I'm sure you'll find a way to beat me. Being in my son's head must have given you plenty of time to figure out how."

"Indeed," Kurama replied. He sniffed the air, before turning his head in the direction of the camp. "It would seem the gaki is awake now and looking for you."

Minato nodded. "I suppose I should return and retire. If I'm going to train with Naruto, I have a feeling I will need all the rest I can get."

The demon snorted in amusement. "I almost feel sorry for you."

"And I almost feel touched," Minato countered almost cheekily, before in a flash of yellow, was gone, leaving the demon standing there to roll his eyes at how uncanny the man's childish response was like Naruto's. "Great...now I'm going to have to deal with two brats." He muttered to himself, looking up towards the sky. "You enjoy tormenting me, don't you?" He asked aloud to the stars.

Minato reappeared at the campsite to Naruto standing still, eyes closed with chakra emitting from him. He had red lines around his eyes and he was emitting a different type of chakra.

"I was worried!" Naruto exclaimed when his eyes finally opened and Minato held back surprise when he saw that they were yellow.

"You were using Sage chakra?" Minato asked.

"Yeah, I was trying to find you with it. It makes tracking people easier." Naruto replied with a frown. "Why?"

Minato was searching through Naruto's memories and finally found the ones where he had trained with the Toads. "...I see," He finally replied. "I hadn't looked through all your memories to know you had been the next Toad Sage. But I guess I should have known."

Naruto looked away, "It wasn't exactly a choice... I wanted enough power to destroy Pein for killing Ero-sennin."

"I know." Minato replied quietly. "I'm sorry to bring it up."

Naruto shook his head and gave him a sad smile. "At least he's alive in this timeline and I plan to keep it that way."

Minato gazed sorrowfully at his son, filled with guilt and an ache that ate at him. He finally spoke after several long moments. "Let's go to bed, we've got a long month ahead, ne?"

Naruto looked a little relieved to be off the subject and gave the man a light smile. "Yeah. We do."

They went to bed without speaking further.

The month passed quickly, much to their surprise and they were trekking home towards Konoha.

"You know they're not going to accept this easily, brat." Kurama finally spoke as they neared the gates.

"I know, but I can handle whatever they throw at me." Naruto replied with a snort. "They can't exactly kill me, so even if I do get lynch-mobbed, it won't really hurt. Too used to it, heh."

Minato frowned darkly. "They won't lay a finger on you," He spoke.

"I don't need your protection, tousan." Naruto said softly. "And it's for the best that you don't speak about me being your son. It will only disturb them more."

"Nonsense!" Minato hissed. "If they cannot accept the fact that you are my son, then they are blind. They've been in the dark long enough! It's time to shine light upon them and make them see."

Naruto looked at his father, a mixture of emotions playing out on his face before he finally gave a nod.

Upon entering the village, everyone went deathly quiet.

A crowd finally gathered as they reached the Square and finally blocked their path.

"You! How dare you! Relase that henge on your clone at once! It's a mockery to the Yondaime and a shame to the village!" A woman roared. She was one of the more aggressive members of the anti-Naruto circle and vehemently protested against him.

She strode forward and was about to back-hand Naruto who'd only stood there unflinching at her outburst and kept completely passive even when she'd raised her hand.

Minato caught her wrist in a vicegrip. "You will not strike my son and I assure you, Himiko-san, that I am quite real." He spoke in his most deadliest voice.

The woman's eyes widened and she began stuttering. "Wh-what? H-how? Yondaime-sama!"

Kurama snarled at the crowd. "You all are fools! You scorn this brat, but he's done everything to make you happy and made sure you sleep safely at night! He bargained with the Reaper of Death himself to bring your beloved Yondaime back from the dead snd yet you still scorn him? It is no wonder calamity strikes so fiercly; the Kami demand retribution for all the hatred you carry!"

"Kurama, that's enough," Naruto spoke softly, placing his hand on the demon's arm. "They do not know any better, and I forgive them. Though I am not the Kyuubi, I will accept their blame and hate because I am the container. His sins, are now mine."

Minato stared in regret, but also with admiration and pride in how mature his son was. "All I had ever wished, was for my son to be honored as a Hero because of his sacrifice in having to hold the Kyuubi back, but I see only few have respected that wish. Yes, I sealed the demon into my own son. Why? Because how could I have asked anyone else to sacrifice their child if I was so selfish not to offer my own? I did what was best to protect Konoha, but at the price of leaving behind my child to grow up without his parents... I am ashamed of how far Konoha has fallen from the way I remember it."

The crowd was in silence at his speech.

The man turned and gently took Naruto by the arm and led him and Kurama wordlessly to the Hokage's manse.

Tsunade and Hiruzen were both shocked into a stupor when they walked in. After a thorough beating from Tsunade and a reprimand from Hiruzen, Naruto was let off the hook. Minato was given back the rights to his estate, and Jiraiya and Kakashi were called in.

Jiraiya was floored and after a bunch of stuttering and jaw-flapping, he enveloped the man into a bear-hug. Kakashi looked between Naruto and Minato, wondering just what Naruto did to bring him back, and the smile Naruto was wearing at how happy Jiraiya was. He approached Minato and sheepishly put a hand behind his head, scratching. He wasn't even sure he knew what to say.

Minato merely gave him his usual bright smile and pulled him into an embrace. "You've grown, Kaka-kun." He murmured in his ear.

Kakashi chuckled quietly, feeling his heart flutter. "It seems I have, Mina-sensei."

Naruto watched with a bittersweet smile on his face before he silently turned and slipped out of the room unnoticed. Kurama did not miss the scent of tears and silently followed after.

He caught up to the teen and walked silently along with him until Naruto was sitting on the swing at the academy. "They're happy," Naruto finally spoke as he kicked himself back to begin lightly swinging.

"Yet you aren't." Kurama replied.

Naruto shook his head. "No, I am. I'm really happy that they are. Seeing their faces light up...that brought me the best feeling. Knowing it was me who did it, that's also something I'm happy for. But at the same time..." He sighed and looked down towards the ground as he swung.

Kurama was silent, because he already knew that the blond was going to say, even though he didn't. He sighed heavily, pushing his orangy hair behind his shoulder again and stepped behind the other and when the blond came back, he brought his hands up and placed them briefly on their back and pushed.

Naruto's eyes widened and he couldn't help the little gasp that escaped him. He glanced back at the other, who stared impassively back at him. With the smallest of grins, he pumped his legs to get more force behind the push, and when he came back, the Kyuubi took a step back to give him more room and pushed him again.

Higher and higher he swung, and Naruto couldn't stop the crazy laugh that overtook him as he closed his eyes to feel the rush of the air hitting him. When he opened them several minutes later, he was almost parallel to the branch of the tree and Kurama was leaning against the trunk, watching him silently.

With one final effort, Naruto pushed as hard as he could and watched with a grin as the world did an entire three-sixty as he flipped all the way around the branch. When the swing reached it's arc again, he leaped from the swing and landed with a crouch. He turned towards the demon entity, walking over and gave them a smile. "Thanks, Kurama."

The demon shook his head. "Don't thank me," He replied softly before giving the teenager a thin smile of his own. "Now, let's get back there, gaki. You'll be missed if you don't."

Feeling more light-hearted and at ease, Naruto nodded and began to walk back towards the Hokage's manse.

Upon his return, he was asked where he went. He merely laughed. "I needed to get away from all the bromance." He excused. That got a squawk of indignance from Jiraiya and a chortle from Kakashi and Minato merely smiled while Tsunade rolled her eyes and Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe.

Finally, after a long talk with everyone, Naruto and Minato left the Hokage's manse and were walking down the road towards Naruto's house to get his stuff so they could go to Minato's estate. Naruto didn't have much, but it took him ten clones to pack and carry everything to said Estate. Minato unsealed the gate and they walked up the steps to the large house and Minato unlocked the door with the key and flipped the switch, the foreroom lighting up to illuminate the living room. Everything was covered with plastic to keep it from gathering dust and debris.

Naruto was looking around in awe. "Wow..."

"Home sweet home," Minato said as he began to walk farther into the room, taking the plastic off the furniture and dusting off photos."Nothing's changed." He murmured quietly to himself.

Minato snapped back from his reverie and turned to grin at Naruto. "Come on, we'll head to your room."

Naruto's eyes perked up a little and he nodded, following after the man up the stairs.

It was decorated with shuriken wallpaper and the typical Uzumaki spiral-upon Kushina's request, Minato told him-and there was a dresser and mirror, but the rest of the room was bare. Minato told him that they were going to finish decorating and setting up after Naruto'd been born.

They blew up the inflatable mattress Minato had for Naruto to sleep on until they could get him a decent bed. Naruto went to bed early, and Minato sat quietly in the living room, going over Naruto's memories once more, reliving each and every one of them.

He finally finished sorting through them all when light was just barely drifting in through the window. He sighed, before pushing himself up and walking to the window, pushing the curtains open to gaze out at the entirety of Konoha. A certain sorrow gripped him and he only wished Kushina were there alongside him.

He turned away from the window and headed up the stairs to prepare for the events that were sure to pass later in the morning.

**TBC**

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**DHC: **And so, there you have it. Minato's alive, yay! I hope you all enjoyed it! -trumpets off-


	27. Chapter 21

**Title:** Crisis Reverted  
**Series:** Naruto  
**Rating:** T  
**Genres:** Drama, sorta-angst, adventure, romance.  
**Warnings:** Crack, swearing, shounen-ai, shojou-ai, het, time bending.  
**Verse:** Canon Redeux.

**DHC:** Oh, god.. The emotional overhaul in this chapter almost killed me. I blame my depression. Also, I hope you all enjoy this. one, sorry if it isn't what you were expecting.

* * *

A month had passed since Minato's revival and Konoha had mostly settled down back into the normal rutine it had. The children had been in awe of Naruto's power when he introduced his father to them. Minato had smiled and only chuckled to himself when they all began to ask questions about him, especially Seki, who he found from Naruto's memories, had been from Iwa.

He also took a moment to pull Uchiha, Mikoto aside and offer her a heartfelt thank you for having taken in and watched over Naruto. She had smiled and replied that she was happy to have watched Naruto grow as far as he had.

The two of them were currently watching Naruto and Sasuke spar out in the Uchiha training field with Sakura on the side, cheering them both on. Naruto had avidly run into the Uchiha compound that day, exclaiming he had "figured it out", and while Mikoto and Minato did not understand, Sasuke and Sakura seemingly did and Sasuke had nodded hurriedly and they made their way out to the training ground.

Both were doing their best to avoid one another's attacks, and when Sasuke withdrew a Fuuma Shuriken and threw it hard at Naruto's recovering form, Minato's mouth opened to let out a yell, but Sakura's gasp overtook his own sound as in that instant, Naruto's body did a mild flicker and the shuriken passed straight through.

"Wha...you really did it!" Sakura gushed.

"So you really did figure it out, dobe." Sasuke replied as he landed from his jump.

Naruto nodded as he went to where the shuriken had embedded in a tree and pulled it out, allowing Sasuke and Sakura, as well as Mikoto and Minato see that it had not drawn blood or made any scratch on him.

"How did you do that, Naru-chan?" Mikoto asked with astonishment.

Minato knew Naruto had been developing a theory on altering space-time based off of his own formula, but this...?

"Well, uh..." Naruto looked around seriously, as if people could hear before answering. "The reaper explained to me how space-time works in a better sense and told me how I can use a move called a 'Body flicker'. Think of time as many threads woven together, albeit, loosely. There are pockets, or, seams, if you will, in between these threads. Basically the Body Flicker works by placing part of your body into that seam, it's called "Zero-Space", and you can only be within that seam for a short while otherwise you risk crushing whatever parts you've stuck in that space.

"Since I am a jinchuuriki of time, I can enter it without worry of being crushed. However... If Sasuke or Sakura tried, they could only be within it for maybe thirty seconds or so depending on how durable they can withstand the pull of the zero-space, since it's like a black hole." Naruto explained.

Sasuke looked like he wanted to say something, but he nodded and Sakura gave a mild nod as well. "It...does make more sense now that you've explained it that way." She admitted.

"The Reaper told you this?" Mikoto asked, still a bit in shock.

"Yeah... He's been teaching me a lot of things while I sleep, I absorb it better, he says. So I've been working on this and when he said I had it correct, I came to test it for sure." Naruto replied.

Minato finally realized what Sasuke had wanted to ask. How Madara, or rather... His eyes flickered with pain as he had come to realize from Naruto's memories that the person he had fought back then had been his own student, Uchiha, Obito. He knew now how Sasuke had wanted to ask how he could use the space-time like that for so-long without being crushed.

"Naruto, show me?" Sasuke asked seriously.

Naruto looked at his bestfriend and nodded. "Show Sakura afterwards, too."

The sable-haired ninja nodded before his eyes bled to the Mangekyou and he copied everything the Reaper had taught him about Space-time before turning to Sakura afterwards and relaying the information to her the same way.

The three then nodded. Sasuke now understood and Minato was a little jealous that Naruto would not speak of it to him. Hell, he had not even taken a moment to tell Kakashi, either. He could understand Naruto's reasoning, but still, it was wrong of him to not tell him.

On the other hand, he knew well how very unstable it would most likely make the man, since he still grieved deeply for the loss of both Rin and supposedly Obito. Finding out that said person was alive and an enemy of all things, well... That would not go over well. But he still would find out sooner or later, whether he had to tell the man himself or if Naruto did.

"There's other tricks I can do now with space-time, but those are still in the works." Naruto replied cheerfully, threading his hands behind his head. Mikoto chuckled quietly, unaware of the deep thoughts that Minato was having and patted the blond boy on the shoulder. "You always keep surprising and amazing me, Naru-chan. You're well on your way to making Jounin if you keep this up."

Naruto beamed brightly. "Thank you, Miko-chan." He replied to the compliment, turning and sticking his tongue childishly out at Sasuke. "Hear that, teme? I'm more awesome than you!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, not even bothering to scowl at his teammate and snorted. "Idiot. You'll never be better than me. Just watch, I'll make Jounin faster than you can." He replied.

Sakura only laughed. "Out of the three of us, I'm more qualified to be a full Jounin at this point. All I have to do is ace the exam and trial again! So, that means, boys, that I am even *more* awesome than both of you!"

Both teens looked to their female friend, and back, before looking put out at the same time.

"You ruin the fun, Sakura-chan." Naruto teased.

"Hn." Sasuke agreed.

Sakura smirked. "It's what I'm here for: To keep your ego's down."

Mikoto laughed and Minato snapped back to reality to hear Sakura and put a smile on as well. "Hate to break it to you, but she is right. Sakura's Tokubetsu-Jounin, it would only take just a little more effort for her to make full-fledged Jounin. You two have got some catching up to do."

"Tou-san!" Naruto whined, pouting for a long moment before brightening again. "Don't worry, I'll be the best in no time!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "If you don't stop bragging, you're never going to get anywhere."

"Look who's talking, Mr. I'm-the-best-at-everything." Sakura teased.

Sasuke glared playfully at her. "Shut up."

All of them laughed before heading back to the Main House where the children were heading off to the Academy since it had been at breakfast that Naruto had barged in to announce that he had perfected his jutsu.

"Ah, looks like it's time for work, then." Sakura said as she waved goodbye to the children. "I'll see you all later, Shishou said she wanted to show me something special today so I'd better not be late!"

They all nodded.

"Take care, Sakura-chan!" Mikoto said.

"Don't piss baa-chan off," Naruto snickered and both Sasuke and Sakura hit him upside the head.

"Right, then! See you!" She called before jogging off towards the Hokage Tower.

Sasuke and Naruto looked to one another and shrugged. "I guess I'll go help Iruka-sensei at the academy today." Naruto replied. "Catch you later, everyone!"

"Bye, Naru-chan!" Mikoto said kindly as she hugged the boy.

"Don't let the children get the best of you," Minato teased.

Naruto pouted. "Hey, just because they managed to tie me up ONCE doesn't mean they got the best of me!" He whined.

Sasuke snorted. "What about the time you nearly got to be a pincushion for all their projectiles at throwing practice?"

Naruto scowled. "Don't bring that up! Anyway, gotta go! Bye!" And with that, the blond disappeared in a red flash.

Sasuke shook his head and sighed. "I suppose I'll go see about a mission. I hope it's not another D rank..." He murmured.

Minato intervened. "Sasuke, instead of that, would you mind helping me at my house? I've bought new furniture and things to decorate Naruto's room and I want to surprise him."

Sasuke looked at the Yondaime, sensing there was more to what the man wanted, but nodded. "Sure."

"Great. Let's go." Minato said with a smile and motioned for the Uchiha to follow.

"Farewell, Sasu-chan." Mikoto called after them. "Goodbye, Yondaime-sama."

"Goodbye, kaasan." Sasuke replied.

Minato only smiled. "Minato is fine, Uchiha-san. Farewell!"

The two made their way to Minato's estate and there was random parts of furniture strewn about the living room and various tools there to assemble the parts that were not put together.

"Thank you for helping, Sasuke. Naruto's going to enjoy this." Minato said cheerfully as he stepped further into the house.

Sasuke nodded. "It's no problem, but..."

Minato turned, brow raising. "But...?"

"What's the other reason you asked me here, Yondaime-sama? I am not so blind as to not think you're merely asking me here to help when so much is going on behind the scenes." Sasuke answered bluntly.

Minato had the nerve to look surprised in Sasuke's opinion before the man looked sheepish. "I'm sorry, I know you're smart, I shouldn't have tried to deceive you. It's just...Naruto doesn't tell me anything. I'm his father of all things, and I feel as if he's purposely leaving me out of things. I need to be in the know, Sasuke. Naruto is my son; if anything could endanger him-besides the Akatsuki-I need to know what's being planned. It could mean his life. I can't allow you three to take those risks when his very life is concerned."

Sasuke's expression darkened, and he bit back a scathing reply, but hissed out through clenched teeth. "Yet you're the one who placed the burden on him in the last time-period."

Minato flinched and looked away. "I know, it does no good for me to put on a concerned, loving fatherly face now, not when I know what happened in Naruto's last life; but you must believe me when I say that I was, and am now, a completely different person. I had seen everything Naruto had been through until that point in the last life, this life, I had no clue, no idea as to what would happen as he has not activated the eighth tail in this time period.

"All my chakra had been embedded in that area of the seal. He unlocked that part when he put my soul into the clone. How could I possibly have reacted any other way than I had before? I know it's no consolation to you, or to him, for my reasoning, but he is my son; and now, at this very moment, I iam/i being a father to him, and I need to know, Sasuke."

Sasuke was quiet for a long while, taking in the man's words and slowly letting them sink in, slowly willing his indignant rage to die down so he could think and reply calmly.

"...He plans to face and destroy Obito sooner than before. Before he can even begin to whisper the start of the war. I don't even know when, or if he's even concerned with Orochimaru at this point. All I know is that he plans to create kage-bunshin and place them all into the seams of time, trapping Obito into this time-space, unable to warp or cross the seams, so he will be vulnerable to attack. Kurama knows more about it than me, but I doubt you'll get that furball to talk."

"..." Minato flinched at what Sasuke was telling him, looking almost heartbroken that Naruto did not tell him any of this himself. Feeling himself growing even more guilty at the fact that he was part of the cause, he finally managed to croak out hoarsely, "I see... Thank you for telling me, Sasuke."

Trying to put on a smile, he turned towards the furniture that still needed to be assembled. "Shall we start setting everything up now?" He asked, averting any further discussion of his son's plans for the future for the time being. Sasuke saw the blantant avoidance for what it was, but did not pressure the man any further and simply nodded his head. "Un," He grunted as he moved to begin setting up the bookcase.

Three hours later found the project a success and when Naruto walked into the house, he was very surprised when Minato told him to come with him upstairs. He climbed up behind his father and they went to his room. With a broad grin, Minato opened the door to reveal Sasuke...sitting on a huge queen sized bed!

With a small gasp of wonder, Naruto stepped into the room, looking around at all of the new furniture and items placed into the room. Aside from the bed and the dresser, there was a new stand for all of his ninja tools, a bookshelf for his books and scrolls, a small work desk, a mirror, and shelves hanging up high that shelved all of his pictures and small trinkets.

"S-sugoi..." He whispered before turning to his father, smiling brightly. "Thank you, tousan."

Minato smiled warmly. "Sasuke helped, too."

Naruto nodded, turning his head to look back towards his teammate. "Thanks, Sasuke."

The Uchiha had the slightest of smiles on in return as he nodded his head back with a small sound of approval.

"It's wonderful," Naruto continued, daring to step up to the desk and run his fingers lightly along the wood, admiring the craftmanship on it, before his eyes wandered to the bedframe of the wood and the intricate designs along the headboard. He felt in awe, and though on the inside he felt he didn't deserve it, he also couldn't stop the guilty feeling of knowing it was most likely because his father felt guilty and he knew he had put him into that position.

Finally, he turned again and smiled again. "It really is amazing."

"I'm glad you like it. Are you hungry? After all this work of putting it together, I've worked up an apetite and I'm sure you have too, Sasuke." Minato said with a chuckle.

Sasuke rolled his eyes a little, "Like father like son," He murmured amusedly.

At that, the two looked to one another, before at the Uchiha and back before they broke out into roaring laughter.

"I guess so!" Naruto said brightly.

"It seems that way, ne?" Minato replied. "C'mon, let's go get something to eat."

Nodding, the two followed after him and they found their way walking down the street to Ichiraku's.

The three ate and Minato paid for the meal, despite the protests of the two and waved them off. Minato and Naruto walked Sasuke back to his estate and on their way back towards their own house, they saw Sakura who waved their way as she went, her own path leading her towards the Hyuuga compound.

Once reaching their house, they sat in the living room and relaxed. Naruto was deep in thought when a red flash appeared and Kurama appeared, making the two startle.

"Woah!" Naruto cried, his hand curled around a kunai and Minato had already crossed the room, one of his own kunai directed at the fox's throat.

"Jeez, I didn't think you'd react that badly, Namikaze." Kurama murmured softly so as not to further startle the man.

Minato blinked a few times, before retracting the kunai from its position and put it back into his holster. "I can't even be careful in my own home?" He teased back.

The fox snorted. "I suspect not once the Akatsuki or Orochimaru find out you are alive." He said back.

Naruto frowned darkly at the demon in response.

"Don't get that look, brat. You know that it will happen."

"I...know. But that doesn't mean I like the fact that it will happen. I was hoping to keep tousan's return a secret from them as long as possible. Like a backup plan, per se. Not that I'm using you, dad. I just..." He sighed, dropping his head into his hands for a long moment in distress.

"I just don't know how much longer we have time-wise before Orochimaru sends his minions for Sasuke again."

Finally, the reason for Naruto's actions this past month made perfect sense sank into Minato's mind as he remembered the Sound Five. He gave his son a strained smile, at once feeling guilty that he had not taken any of his son's feelings into consideration, too worried about Naruto to see that his son was worried for another.

"I understand, Naruto." He answered slowly. "And I know you're not using me. And I'm sorry, I had completely misfigured your recent actions and seriousness as something else; had I thought more about it, I would have come to the conclusion, but I foolishly jumped ahead, thinking you were going to make a move against the Akatsuki."

Naruto looked at him with tired, weary eyes. "No, not yet. I want to get Orochimaru out of Sasuke's side before I start on them. However, that may require me to start a few steps of the process. I think I'm going to try and reach out to one of the members and attempt to form an alliance."

Minato frowned in concern, wanting to speak out against his son's plan, but he knew that he would not listen. "...I see," He finally said.

"No disagreement?" Naruto asked with a surprised tone to it.

"I would rather not upset you further by doing so, and though I'm sure you know I don't agree, I also know I cannot dissuade you. You are an adult, and I as a father have no real say over your course of actions. But I, as a Shinobi, can at least help you in your endeavors, if you will let me." Minato answered honestly.

Naruto's eyes welled for a second. "Dad..." He began.

Kurama looked between the two and sighed. "You two are too much alike. It's like the Unstoppable Force meeting the Unbreakable Wall."

Naruto snorted. "Which one is which? He asked cheekily.

Kurama rolled his eyes. "Figure it out for yourself. Anyway, If you're willing to listen now, I've had my ear to the ground and I've located Orochimaru. I've already informed Tsunade and Hiruzen. They're wanting your imput before they mobilize any sort of operation to take him out."

Both looked to one another, before Naruto nodded. "Alright. When do they want us?"

"Tomorrow morning. Now, I'm heading back to monitor him some more. I will send you word if anything changes."

"Right. Thanks, fox."

"Whatever, brat."

With another flash, Kurama disappeared, leaving the two there in silence once again.

"...This is something I can't ignore, tousan." Naruto began softly.

"I know. You're going to strike at him, ne?" Minato asked.

"Yeah. If we can do it right, we take two of the factors out of the equation. If we can get rid of Kabuto and Orochimaru, then that will give Madara less options to use when the time comes." Naruto replied.

"Why do you still call him that, when you know who he really is?" Minato asked.

"Because I know it's painful for you to hear 'his' name, and I would rather call him that infront of Kakashi still. I don't know how I'm going to tell him..." Naruto replied softly.

"You can't keep it from him forever, Naruto."

"I know, but I need to keep it from him for as long as I can for now. Please, don't tell him. I need to tell him this, myself. It's only right that he hears it from me. He may end up hating me for it, but..." He looked straight into his dad's eyes with a sad smile. "That's why there's you."

And with a sad melancholic smile in return, Minato understood his son's motives. He figured Kakashi would hate him and to soften, or at least ease some of the burden would be to know that he himself was alive as some sort of comfort and silent apology. He knew he should feel used, or at least indignant about this, but he couldn't find it in himself to blame Naruto.

After all, it was how he'd been taught. Make up for your losses by gaining something else. It was the world they lived in. He realized bitterly just how much the world had changed in the span of time he'd been dead.

"...Are you mad, or upset?" Naruto quietly asked him.

With a swish of his hair as he shook his head, he answered, "No, I'm not. I can't find it in me to blame you. I just came to realize that this is the world we live in; whether I like it or not, this is how you've been taught, and I can only try to accept."

"..I'm sorry, dad."

Giving his son a small, but sad smile, he shook his head again. "There's no need. As I said, I as a father, do not agree, but I as a Shinobi, can understand. Come on, it's getting late; we should get some rest for tomorrow."

Standing up, Naruto nodded grimly. "Yeah..."

"Oyasumi, Naruto."

"Night, tousan..."

Minato watched as his son climbed the stairs and disappeared and could hear him walk to his room and close the door.

Sighing heavily, Minato ran a hand through his locks, feeling his age sinking into him as he gazed at the picture on the coffee table of Kushina holding Naruto and him with his arms around her, both of them smiling proudly down at the blond baby.

_'Kushina...'_ He thought sorrowfully. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he stood and slowly headed for the stairs as well and ascended to his own room and shut the door, heading to his bathroom to shower. When he returned, he climbed into bed and rolled onto his side, staring out the large-paned window at the stars, trying his best to hold back the emotions that were churning around inside of him.

Finally shutting his eyes, he willed himself to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a big one.

**TBC**

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**DHC:** Oh my...so much drama. Again, I blame the angst and I do hope you all enjoyed this. Thanks for reading!


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